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Background information on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
One of the United Nation’s most important initiatives for indigenous peoples is the development of a United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Adoption of this instrument will give the clearest indication yet that the international community is committing itself to the protection of the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples. While this Declaration will not be legally binding on States, and will not, therefore, impose legal obligations on governments, the declaration will carry considerable moral force.
Content
The Draft Declaration is a long and complex document with a preamble and 45 articles, divided into nine sections.
The text recognises the wide range of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. Among these are the right to unrestricted self-determination, an inalienable collective right to the ownership, use and control of lands, territories and other natural resources, their rights in terms of maintaining and developing their own political, religious, cultural and educational institutions along with the protection of their cultural and intellectual property. The Declaration highlights the requirement for prior and informed consultation, participation and consent in activities of any kind that impact on indigenous peoples, their property or territories. It also establishes the requirement for fair and adequate compensation for violation of the rights recognised in the Declaration and establishes guarantees against ethnocide and genocide.
The Declaration also provides for fair and mutually acceptable procedures to resolve conflicts between indigenous peoples and States, including procedures such as negotiations, mediation, arbitration, national courts and international and regional mechanisms for denouncing and examining human rights violations.
Read the Declaration in its full version on OHCHR’s website: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/declaration.htm
For a plain language version of the Draft Declaration, click here
For an overview of 2006-2007 news related to the Declaration and its adoption go to our News Archive |
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