International Human Rights Instruments
Below you can find a number of international human rights instruments of importance to indigenous peoples.
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
ICESCR was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966. It commits states parties to promote and protect a wide range of economic, social and cultural rights, including rights relating to work in just and favourable conditions, to social protection, to an adequate standard of living, to education and to enjoyment of the benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress. The implementation of CESCR by its States parties is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), which is a body of independent experts. The list of countries that have ratified the Covenant can be found here.
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
CEDAW was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. The Convention is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) watches over the progress for women made in those countries that are the States parties to the Convention. The list of countries that have ratified the Convention can be found here. Forest Peoples Programme has developed a guide that gives indigenous women guidance on how to make use of the various procedures offered by the Convention. The guide can be found here.
Other conventions:- Convention on Biological Diversity
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was finally negotiated at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It deals with the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and with access to biological diversity and sharing of the benefits arising from this access. The CBD's decision-making body is the Conference of Parties (COP). The list of countries that have ratified the Convention can be found here. Read more about the Convention on Biological Diversity on IWGIA's website by clicking here.
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
In 1957, the ILO adopted a Convention - Convention No. 107 of 1957 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Populations to be applied to indigenous and tribal populations in independent countries and aimed at protecting these peoples against abuses. In 1989, a revised Convention - Convention No. 169 on Indigenous Peoples was adopted in the light of changes in the position of indigenous and tribal populations and of greater understanding of their position by governments, employers and workers.
Read more about the ILO Convention 169 here. See the list of countries that have ratified the Convention here. In IWGIA's publication The Indigenous World 2005 you can read the article 'The ILO and Indigenous and Tribal Peoples'. Click here to download the article (click on Part II - International Processes).
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 Chukchi, Russia
Photo: Alexander Pika
 Maasai, Tanzania
Photo: Jens Dahl
 Pygmy, Congo
Photo: Espen Wæhle
 Lahu, Thailand
Photo: Christian Erni
 Wichí, Argentina
Photo: Pablo Lasansky |
