.

1. CONCEPT NOTE
Seminar on
Enabling rights-based development for indigenous and tribal peoples – learning from 25 years’ experience of ILO Convention No.169
Geneva 27-28 November 2014
ILO Convention No.169 and indigenous peoples
The ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No.169) adopted in 1989 is, along with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007, a cornerstone of the international framework on the rights of indigenous peoples.
The Convention is an unprecedented and visionary instrument aimed at ensuring that indigenous peoples enjoy their fundamental human rights equally, exercise control over their own development and participate fully in the national development of the States in which they live, in accordance with their cultural identities.
Over the years, the Convention has informed constitutional reforms in Latin America, provided a framework for the negotiation of the peace agreements that ended civil wars in Guatemala and Nepal, and influenced the design and adoption of many laws, policies and programmes, notably land rights in ratifying and non-ratifying countries.
In addition, the Convention is a reference point for domestic and regional courts, investment policies, private companies, multi- and bilateral development policies, environmental agreements and various international and regional processes.
Challenges of ratification and implementation
Convention No.169 is still not widely ratified and the rights-based and inclusive development it was devised to achieve often remains a distant aspiration. To date, 22 countries have ratified the Convention, with some two-thirds of ratifying States found in Latin America. In Europe, the most recent ratification, that of Spain, dates back to 2007. The Asian continent is yet to record a second ratification of the Convention after that of Nepal in 2007. In Africa, the Central African Republic remains the only country that has ratified this instrument (in 2010).
Over the years, the General Assembly, UN Human Rights Council, as well as the UN bodies and mechanisms especially dealing with the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights have repeatedly stressed the importance and necessity of advancing in the practical implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights as enshrined in ILO Convention No.169 and the UNDRIP. They have also encouraged States which have not yet ratified the Convention to consider doing so.
Full implementation of the Convention remains a challenge almost everywhere. The ILO supervisory bodies have noted a number of implementation issues over the years, most often with regard to coordinated and systematic action to protect the rights of

2. indigenous peoples and the need to ensure consultation and participation of indigenous peoples in decisions that affect them. UN mechanisms dealing with indigenous peoples’ rights have similarly highlighted the need for further progress in these areas.
Ensuring consultation and participation of indigenous peoples has proved to be particularly challenging in the context of natural resource extraction, which is often perceived as being in contention with indigenous peoples’ collective rights over land and resources. Indigenous peoples’ lands thus continue to be encroached upon and their own perceptions, priorities and aspirations are often not taken into account by national development strategies or programs. This being the case, there are crucial lessons to be learnt from practical experiences.
It has become evident that a focus on practices at the country-level and lessons learnt from practical implementation is crucial for achieving constructive dialogue, building partnerships and alliances and strengthening national action to advance with the implementation of the Convention.
UN calls for renewed commitment to the implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights:
The World Conference on Indigenous Peoples
On 22 September this year, the UN General Assembly adopted by acclamation the Outcome Document of its High-level plenary meeting known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP). In this landmark document, UN Member States reiterated their commitment to respect, promote and advance the rights of indigenous peoples and to uphold the principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Furthermore, the WCIP Outcome Document recognized the crucial role of Convention No.169 in the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights by encouraging those States that have not yet ratified the Convention to consider doing so. It also recalled the obligation of ratifying States under the Convention to develop coordinated and systematic action to protect the rights of indigenous peoples.
The seminar
Taking place shortly after the World Conference, the seminar on Enabling rights-based development for indigenous and tribal peoples – learning from 25 years’ experience of ILO Convention No.169 is being organized with the generous support of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swiss National Science Foundation.
The seminar is open to participation by representatives of ratifying and non-ratifying States, indigenous peoples, workers’ and employers’ organizations, independent experts, researchers, UN agencies and other stakeholders. It is hosted by the Permanent Mission of Denmark and Mexico and organized in partnership with IWGIA, the University of Lucerne and the ILO.
Objectives and expected results
The seminar is intended as a multi-stakeholder platform for taking stock of the contribution of ILO Convention No.169 to human rights-based and self-determined development. This will entail addressing the following questions: How has the implementation of Convention No.169 contributed to human rights-based development? How can related challenges be overcome? Has the Convention contributed to building social peace and multi-ethnic democratic States? Can the self-determined development of indigenous peoples be aligned with national interests and private investments, including large-scale natural resource exploitation projects?
As a concrete contribution to the follow-up of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, the organizers expect that the seminar will identify timely and concrete recommendations regarding action that could be taken to promote further ratification and advance in the implementation of the Convention.

3. The concrete results of the seminar will be
•
A short document (max. 2- 3) presenting concrete lessons drawn from 25 years’ experience of the Convention, including suggestions for action to promote ratification and advance in the implementation of Convention No.169. The document will be widely distributed to participants, State delegations, UN agencies, UN mechanisms dealing with indigenous peoples’ rights, indigenous peoples’ organizations/networks and other stakeholders.
•
A knowledge-sharing publication on the contribution of Convention No. 169 to the advancement and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and their participation in national development (to be prepared by IWGIA and the University of Lucerne), compiling seminar documents, panel contributions, additional written contributions and the outcome document of the seminar.
Format and organization
The seminar’s programme offers an interactive platform for taking stock of the contribution of ILO Convention No.169 to a human rights-based and self-determined development through a series of thematic panels and interactive dialogues.
The two-day programme includes both space for interactive debates and presentation of country and regional experiences by representatives of indigenous peoples, governments, social partners, independent experts, UN agencies and mechanisms.
This format will enable all stakeholders to participate actively in the exchanges of experiences with a view to identifying potential concrete actions that could be taken to promote ratification of the Convention and further its practical implementation.
The organizers will contact confirmed participants with further details regarding panel presentations and guidance regarding the possibility of written contributions. Seminar contributions will be considered for a follow-up publication coordinated by the University of Lucerne and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA).
IWGIA is in charge of all logistic arrangements, including travel and accommodation for invited participants. Interpretation into English, French and Spanish will be available during the seminar.
An information note concerning practical arrangements, along with other seminar documents, will be distributed among all confirmed participants in due time and published on IWGIA’s website (www.iwgia.org) once available.
Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN in Geneva International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN in Geneva International Labour Organisation University of Luzern