Invisible Movements: Recommendations for Facilitating the Cross-border Migration of Indigenous People in the Caribbean
Indigenous populations in the Americas are an example of a group that has faced important obstacles to their humane and orderly migration. As a consequence of long historical processes of colonization, decolonization and the creation of new independent States, many of the territories where indigenous people live are located across the bordering regions of more than one country. Given their ancestral connections with these lands, free movement is crucial for their self-identification as indigenous peoples, their self-determination, and their cultural survival as distinct peoples across the world. However, the needs of indigenous peoples have not always been carefully considered in regional and national migration frameworks, limiting their free movement through ancestral and customary territories, and threatening the sustainability of their livelihoods, their lifestyles and their family unities.
In the Caribbean, for example, countries where indigenous populations are present have specific government bodies for their protection. Nevertheless, in most cases, indigenous peoples are not legally recognized by States as autonomous communities with specific rights, particularly affecting their access to labour, education, and healthcare. Cross-border indigenous migrants and communities are negatively impacted by this situation as it places them in positions of social and economic disadvantage, and it often makes them a target of discrimination. Such discrimination and the lack of recognition of their rights and ways of life runs counter to the principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, two key instruments for the protection of human rights and, more specifically, indigenous peoples’ rights.
This study focuses on the policies and legislation affecting the cross-border mobility and migration of indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. Using a human rights approach based on principles enshrined in regional and international instruments, it analyses specific case studies in different countries to provide examples of good practices, limitations and opportunities for improvement. The primary purpose of the document is to provide actionable recommendations that governments, civil society and human rights organizations can use to minimize risks and guarantee the safety of indigenous populations as they mobilize throughout their ancestral territories and country borders alike.