Indigenous communities have gotten a one-week extension of consultations on a proposed law on ethnic minorities and marginalised communities after raising concerns they had been given too little time to scrutinise the draft.
The communities said on Monday the Draft Bill on Ethnic Minorities and Marginalized Communities, 2026 needed to be taken to the grassroots to allow affected groups to examine its provisions, consult internally and consolidate their recommendations before it advances to the next stage.
The decision to extend the validation process was reached during a high-level stakeholder forum convened by the Minority and Marginalized Affairs Unit.
The meeting brought together State departments, independent commissions, civil society organisations, the legal team, Indigenous communities, ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups.
Representatives of Indigenous communities told the forum several issues affecting them had not been adequately reflected in the current draft.
They also challenged the limited timeframe initially provided for validating the proposed legislation, arguing a national law affecting minority and marginalised communities required broader consultations beyond stakeholders gathered at the national level.
The concerns prompted agreement to extend the validation exercise by an additional week.
The extension gives Indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and other marginalised communities more time to obtain and review the draft, consult within their communities and submit proposed amendments and recommendations.
The development comes as the government seeks to finalise legislation intended to provide a framework for addressing the concerns and rights of ethnic minorities and marginalised communities.
During the forum, the legal team took participants through the draft Bill section by section, explaining its provisions and facilitating discussions on the proposed law.
Stakeholders were given an opportunity to raise concerns, propose amendments and make recommendations on provisions they considered inadequate or requiring clarification.
The demand for more time centred on the need to ensure communities directly affected by the legislation are able to participate meaningfully in shaping it.
Indigenous representatives particularly pushed for the consultation process to reach communities at the grassroots, where local concerns and priorities could be gathered before a consolidated position is submitted.
The Minority and Marginalized Affairs Unit encourages Indigenous communities, ethnic minorities, marginalised groups, civil society organisations and other interested stakeholders to access the draft Bill and submit their views before the new deadline.
The Unit said the contributions would help ensure that the concerns and priorities of affected communities are considered before the Bill progresses.
The proposed legislation is expected to provide a framework for addressing some of the concerns of ethnic minorities and marginalised communities.
