Luxembourg ratified the ILO convention 169

On 26 of April 2018, the Luxembourgian ministry of Foreign Affaires formally notified to the International Labour Organization that the Grand-Duché has ratified the ILO convention 169. This is the very last act in Luxembourg of six years of awareness raising and lobbying by Climate Alliance and NGO networks in Luxembourg and administrative procedures; it is also the fruit of six years of activities in three continuing EU projects: „From Overconsumption to Solidarity“, „The Future we want“ and finally „Change the power …“.

Our campaign started in May 2012 by a Resolution of Climate Alliance Luxembourg asking the gouvernement to ratify the ILO convention 169. Then four long years of awareness raising and lobbying activities came. The turning point was that we won the minister of Environment, Carole Dieschbourg, as an allied by argueing that strengthening the rights of indigenous peoples is forest protection, and forest protection is also climate protection.

Finally, in Nov. 2016, the minister of labour, Nicolas Schmit, who is in charge of all ILO issues, announced publicly that Luxembourg will ratify this convention (see photo). From that moment on, the internal administrative and political procedure  started – but slowly. In May 2017, the ratification text was submitted to the concerned parts of the administration and political institutions like the Chambers of Commerce and of Trade Unions, the gouvernement, the State’s Council, and finally the Parliament’s Commission of Labour. But especially for this last step, we had to push internally to make things and dates going faster, for instance during the plenary of Climate Alliance in January 2018, where the president of this commission was present in his function as mayor of the member municipality Sanem. So, on 1st of February 2018, the ILO convention 169 was a topic in the reunion of this commission, and three weeks later, on 22nd of February, they published their positive position. Now, the road was open for a vote in the parliament, and already on 27th of February, the Luxembourgian parliament voted finally unanimously in favour for the ratification of the ILO convention 169. For us, as visitors, it was very interesting to hear the different positions of the parties’ speakers…

Now, the very last formal act of this longlasting story has still to be done be the International Labour Organization itself: to confirm the ratification by Luxembourg…

Dietmar Mirkes, Klimabündnis Luxemburg

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Eine Antwort auf „Luxembourg ratified the ILO convention 169“

  1. Felicidades y nuestro enorme agradecimiento al pueblo y movimientos sociales de Luxemburgo por su solidaridad con los pueblos indígenas del mundo.

    Atte.

    Edgardo Benítez Maclin
    Presidente Ejecutivo del IFCA
    Instituto para el Futuro Común Amerindio

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