Nation
Heidi Clark
The United Nations this week awarded First Nation status to one of South Africa’s oldest peoples, the Griquas.
Plettenberg Bay councillor Sammy Jansen, a member of the Griqua political party, the Executive National Conference, says this is the UN’s acknowledgement of his nation as among the first inhabitants of South Africa. It will mean extra protection for them on international and national levels.
First Nation status has so far been awarded to the San, Khoi and Griquas in South Africa, and to the Australian Aborigines, the natives of Greenland and several indigenous American peoples.
Exactly what this will mean for the Griqua people was still under discussion at a convention of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva, Switzerland, this week.
The working group was set up by the UN to give unacknowledged groups around the globe a voice in a bid to formulate a policy that their respective governments can follow to ensure their protection.
Jansen says four Griqua representatives attended this year’s convention. They planned to highlight issues his people have been trying to address for decades, especially their land rights.
The Griquas historically settled in areas around Kokstad, near Kimberley, and in the Southern Cape, near Kranshoek. Jansen says his people believe this land belongs to them, and their attendance at the convention is expected to help pressure the government to acknowledge their claims.
The UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations is planning to hold a follow-up conference in Midrand in September. – DMA