Pygmies ask to be counted in nationwide census

Indigenous populations in the Lekoumou Region of southern Republic of Congo have asked the government to conduct a census of their populations in order to better incorporate them into national development planning. The request came at the conclusion of a human rights seminar for indigenous people, better known as "pygmies", held from 1-3 July in Sibiti, capital of Lekoumou, according to Moke Loamba, president of the Association pour les droits de l'homme et l'univers carceral (ADHUC), a national human rights NGO. "I believe that it is reasonable that we first of all conduct a general census before discussing questions of development that are critical for the survival of pygmy communities which have been terribly marginalised by Bantu peoples," Denis Toutou Nganiye, president of the Association pour la promotion socioculturelle des pygmees du Congo, told IRIN on Saturday. Loamba said that pygmies wished to have this census conducted during the rainy season, during which time they would be unable to hunt and fish, and therefore be based at their camps. Among other recommendations made by the training-of-trainers seminar in human rights were that the Congolese government assume responsibility for the education of pygmy children, as had been done under colonial rule, and that state authorities facilitate the registration of pygmy births. Despite Article 23 of the national family code, which states that the documentation of all civil acts be free of charge, Bantus as well as pygmies have difficulties obtaining birth certificates for their children, human rights activists said. Loamba said that the pygmies of Sibiti, much like those in other locations of the country, remain victims of discrimination because of their ethnicity. As an example, he cited the forestry sector, where pygmy workers receive less pay and protection than do their Bantu counterparts, for the same amount of work. Furthermore, Loamba said, they received their salaries without any documentation, "as if they were beings who did not count". He said that pygmies suffered from higher than average health problems, malnutrition, alcoholism, malaria, ulcers and tuberculosis. Since the beginning of ADHUC's human rights training-of-trainers programme for pygmies in July 2002, funded by the US embassy in Congo, a total of 135 pygmies have been trained in the regions of Lekoumou, Likouala, Plateaux and Sangha. "The trainees, now familiar with human rights law, will be responsible for further disseminating this knowledge to others, because it is essential that people know their rights in order to better defend themselves," Loamba said. "Those who violate human rights are often taking advantage of the ignorance of others." All of the training-of-trainers sessions focus on such subjects as the right to education and health; the right to be counted, to vote, and to be elected; freedom from discrimination and exploitation; the right to have births registered; and the right to cultural identity. "We will conclude the project in August with a meeting of trainers from across the country in Brazzaville, at the conclusion of which we will issue a plan of action for the nationwide respect of the rights of pygmies, who are Congolese just like the rest of us," Loamba said.