an ngo in consultative status with ecosoc
american
indian law alliance
to hear the voices of our people, even unto the SEVENTH generation
Commission on Human Rights
61st session of the Commission on Human
Rights
(14 March - 22 April 2005)
on
Agenda Item 15 of E/CN.4/2005/1:
Indigenous Issues
Supported by
American Indigenous
Coalition on Institutional Accountability; Association
of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation
(RAIPON); Centro Shuar San Ramon Del Ecuador; Consejo Indio Exterior; Dewan Adat Papua (Papua Customary Authority); Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Senate; Indigenous Tourism Rights International; IPACC, Montagnard Foundation, Inc.; National
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services Secretariat (NAILSS); Nepal Indigenous Peoples Development and
Information Service Centre (NIPDISC),OAFA and Tin Hinan
The
a)
the
record of that progress; and
b)
the necessity of renewing the mandate of the WGDD so as to allow it to complete its
review of the 1994 Sub-Commission text of the Draft Declaration of the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (the 1994 DD).
A.
The Record of that Progress
1.
We re-iterate our deep
appreciation for the Commission’s
commitment, expressed over the last decades, to the elaboration of the rights of
Indigenous peoples in a UN instrument, as well as to the incorporation of Indigenous
voices in that elaboration (General
Assembly resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994).
2.
To date that elaboration is embodied in the1994 DD.
The WGDD was charged with reviewing the1994 DD for the Commission (by CHR Resolution 1995/32) which in
turn is expected to transmit it to the General Assembly for adoption.
3. Ever since
1982, when the Working Group on Indigenous Populations first met, Indigenous
representatives have participated with much hope and good faith in the Commission’s
process for developing a Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
4. As a consequence of the
Commission’s mandate, the Indigenous Caucus (“the Caucus”), which consists
of Indigenous delegations from all the seven regions of the world, worked very hard
throughout the session to identify a significant subset of paragraphs and articles over
which it believed there existed consensus, certainly among Indigenous representatives, and
also among many states To this end, the Caucus
compiled an Indigenous consensus list of 24 articles for submission to states for
provisional adoption. The Caucus divided
the 24 provisions into three categories:
a)
those nine to which no party, state or Indigenous, appears to object;
b)
those seven in which minor objections were raised but apparently met;
c)
those eight which needed further discussion but nevertheless seemed
ripe for adoption.
We believed that such adoption
would powerfully signal to all concerned that progress was being made towards the eventual
adoption of a UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
5.
In December, the Chair of the
Working Group, Mr. Luis-Enrique Chavez, appointed
6. The Caucus
list and statement, entitled Statement on behalf of the
Indigenous Peoples Caucus on Provisional Adoption of Articles (“Statement”)
was subsequently delivered
to the Chairperson on December 16, 2004 for inclusion in his report and is attached for
consideration as a part of this intervention. The
Chairperson acknowledged that he received the Statement.
7.
As the referenced Statement
points out, it is important for the Commission to appreciate that it was
very difficult for a number of Indigenous delegations to accept the changes to the
original 1994 Sub-Commission text of the Draft Declaration that the Statement incorporates. However, in the greater interest of making progress
and maintaining unity, they generously decided not to stand in the way of consensus. We sincerely hope that their significant gesture of
goodwill will be reciprocated by states.
8.
The Indigenous peoples of the
world are most encouraged by the UN General Assembly’s recent proclamation of the Second International Decade of the World’s
Indigenous Peoples (document A/C.3/59/L.30) to commence on 1 January 2005. We
believe that this proclamation issues a clear mandate to Indigenous peoples and
governments to continue the work within the WGDD, with the goal of passage of a
document which enshrines the minimum international human rights standards for Indigenous
peoples. The proclamation states that “the goal should be the further strengthening of
international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by Indigenous people in such
areas as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment and social and economic
development, by means of action-oriented programmes and specific projects.”
9.
We believe that there is no
clearer “action-oriented programme”
and “solution of problems faced by Indigenous
peoples” than the adoption by the General Assembly of a Declaration of the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples which will set out the minimum international standards that
Indigenous peoples, nations and communities can utilize to assure our survival and
well-being, and that the world itself needs to redeem and enrich its own humanity.
B.
Review and Recommendations Regarding the
WGDD
In this spirit, we respectfully request the Commission to assure the following:
1.
An extension, in this the Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, of
the mandate of the WGDD. We are confident that
its work can be completed well before the mid-point of the Second Decade, which we suggest
be the target date for the General Assembly to adopt a Declaration of the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples. We note that the midpoint
of the first Decade was similarly marked by a most significant event: the creation of the
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
2.
The appointment of a new chair to
infuse new energy into the WGDD’s critical task of completing a principled review of
the 1994 Draft Declaration. We appreciate the
efforts of Mr. Chavez who has presided over most of the very difficult first phase of the
WGDD in which many participants were meeting each other, as well as issues and procedures,
for the first time. A new phase began this
year when state and Indigenous participants worked productively together in finding
language that clarifies and/or strengthens the 1994 Draft Declaration and meet our
respective concerns. The new president of the
Working Group should be a person who is sensitive to Indigenous needs, familiar with state
concerns, yet brings a fresh energy and perspective to the WGDD. The appointment of a new Chairperson should be made
in consultation with Indigenous nations, peoples and organizations participating in this
process.
3.
A clear reiteration that the 1994
Draft Declaration is the basis of state/Indigenous negotiations in the WGDD. The 1994
Draft Declaration is the text that conforms to long-standing Commission practice in the
development of human rights instruments and this is the text that the Commission’s
own independent experts and technical reviewers recommended.
As such, it deserves the highest presumption of validity and integrity. We understand that Mr. Chavez is presenting a
Chair’s text to the Commission for its consideration.
We believe such a text to be premature and without credible support from
either Indigenous or state representatives.
4.
The adoption of a new resolution
in this current session of the Commission that includes clear directives for the Working
Group and its participants that would ensure the continued progress towards adoption of
the Draft Declaration with the full and equal participation of Indigenous representatives.
5. The
adoption of a new resolution that also asks that the WGDD be forward-looking and not fall
behind the human rights standards, such as the standard of free prior and informed
consent, that are being extended to indigenous peoples in other international bodies.
6. A
process recognizing that both individual and collective dimensions of human rights are
precious to human communities, and that the present effort is first and foremost a
response to the manifest needs of indigenous communities for the recognition of their
collective rights.
7.
A process by which this Commission
unequivocally requires that all state proposals in relation to the Draft Declaration fully
respect the Purposes and Principles of the U.N. Charter, as well as be fully
consistent with the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
equality, non-discrimination, the prohibition against racial discrimination and other
fundamental principles of international law.
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