BANGUI, 8 February (IRIN) - They have suffered marginalisation as well as discrimination because of their short stature and preference for a hunter-gathering way of life. Known as pygmies, they are among the 300 million or so indigenous peoples on Earth, according to Cheick Sangare of the Human Rights Section of the United Nations office in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Unlike the other peoples, however, they have had to endure very cruel treatment, forced labour and verbal insults, said Mathias Morouba, vice-president of the Human Rights Observatory in the Central African Republic, citing one such community that lives in the forested southwestern prefecture of Lobaye.

The community is made up of 16,000 people, collectively known as the Aka. "The public attitude [to them] was that they were savages to be controlled by the population at large and made to work without pay," Morouba noted.

According to Refugees International, the Aka are regarded as second-class citizens in Africa's Great Lakes region. In a 2003 report, it said education, healthcare, land ownership and fair treatment by the justice system were less accessible to the Aka than to the general population.

The ill-treatment of the Aka has generated an outcry in some quarters and continued disdain in others. "It is time things changed," Morouba said. "The pygmies must be considered as fully-fledged Central African citizens."

So says the law and that might be an informed opinion for most of the population, but more prevalent among rural dwellers is the view that the Akas' place in society is as slaves.

"What is this business about civilising pygmies who, throughout our history, have always been our slaves? The Europeans are provoking us; the pygmies are our labourers and this [attempt to improve their lot] is causing them to revolt," Mataya Jean, a landlord in Lobaye, said.

CHANGING ATTITUDES

It was against this background that the non-governmental organisation, COOPI, and the Diocese of Mbaiki in Lobaye started a European Union-funded project three years ago, to improve the social and cultural identity of the Aka. The project also targets the 172,000 other people who live in Lobaye, according to project coordinator Mathilde Ceravolo.

Several methods are being employed to inform the public of minority rights, and a system to evaluate abuses has been also been set up. A sensitisation seminar for parliamentarians was held on the International Labour Organization Convention 169 on 'Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries'. http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/62.htm

Aka culture is to be given greater exposure by documenting their way of life. In addition, rehabilitation of the Aka Hall in the Boganda Museum is now complete. The idea is to arrive at non-violent methods of conflict resolution between the Aka and the rest of the community, thereby giving them a public voice, access to administrative and legal services, and education.

Improvements are already noticeable. In the three years since the launch of the project, there has been a significant change in the daily life of the Aka, according to Ceravolo. A group of 12 Aka leaders was formed to advocate for the community's rights and the protection of children's rights.

For conflict prevention, there are 90 Aka and Bantu cultural mediators. The Ministry of Interior appointed three Aka village chiefs. This gives the community greater recognition and power because these chiefs will not allow their fellow Aka citizens to be mistreated as before.

In addition, at least 1,500 Aka children now have birth certificates, Ceravolo said. These certificates mean they are recognised citizens of the country and have the right to education. They will also have the right to work in the civil service.

Positive developments

The Aka are pleased with these developments, according to Germaine Dimanche, administrator of the Aka Massiringaï of Mbata, a hamlet of about 100 people 155km south of Bangui.

"It is like a dream in that we are being regarded as human with recognised rights for the first time of our existence," she said. "Before the project, we were simply slaves; people were not interested in our fate. Today our eyes are open and we will not accept to be treated as in the past."

Dimanche said the hamlet had appealed to the government for a continuation of the project, funding for which ended in June 2006. The European Commission (EC) head of delegation in the country, Jean-Claude Esmieu, said the commission was going to grant more money to COOPI to continue the project.

Although the Central African Republic remains one of the countries yet to ratify Convention 169, its constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion or social origin.

The document states: "All human beings are equal under the law without distinction of race, origin, gender, religious and political affiliation and social position. There is, in the Central African Republic, neither a subject, nor a privileged birthplace, person nor family."

Given the change in their status, the onus is now on the CAR's Bantu peoples to accept the Aka as equals and close a dark chapter of social and economic exploitation between these two peoples. As for the government, the Aka will expect it to now ratify all international conventions on promoting minority rights.

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