UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

UN Declaration of the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Geoﬀ Campbe", Alex Dalton, Tori Morning,
Mandie Vienneau, and Shingo Yanagida

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Outline
Basic Information

History of the Declaration

Canada’s Initial Objection

Why did Canada Change?

What authority does the declaration have?

Eﬀectiveness?

Criticisms

Case Study: Bolivia, New Zealand and Columbia

Discussion


Introduction

Sets out the individual and collective rights of the world’s 370 million native
peoples, calls for the maintenance and strengthening of their cultural
identities, and emphasizes their right to pursue development in keeping
with their own needs and aspirations.

Adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 13, 2007


Votes
Yes Abstain No
Initially Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States voted against it.

143 in favour, 11 abstentions and 4 against
(Australia, Canada New Zealand and the US
7%3%
Australia endorsed it in 2009.

New Zealand Canada and the U.S. did in 2010

91%


Explanation

“It contained no new provisions of human rights. It was based on rights that
had been approved by the United Nations system but which had somehow,
over the years, been denied to indigenous peoples. It was a framework for
States to protect and promote the rights of indigenous people without
exclusion or discrimination.”


Process to Ratiﬁcation

-1982: UN ECOSOC established Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP)

-1985: WGIP began preparing draft Declaration document

-1993/94: draft Declaration completed and approved by Sub-Commission on the Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.

Drafts were also sent to U.N. Commission on Human Rights.

- 2005 World Summit and 2006 Fifth Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
(UNPFII) called for adoption of the Declaration ASA

- June 2006: Human Rights Council adopted Declaration

- September 2007 General Assembly adopted Declaration.


Canada’s Initial
Objections
Article 26 of the Declaration: "Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands,
territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or
otherwise used or acquired."

-John McNee, Canada's UN Ambassador: The Declaration is "overly broad, unclear
and capable of a wide variety of interpretations" that could lead to the reopening of
previously settled land claims and existing treaties.

Indian Aﬀairs Minister Chuck Strahl: Declaration lacks clear guidance for
implementation and conﬂicts with the existing Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms, which the government believes already protects the rights of aboriginals.

-Canada as a multicultural/liberal society?

“It's an aspirational document, neither convention nor treaty. We're talking here
about minimum standards that relate to our right to self-rule of our territories." –
Phil Fontaine, National Chief of Assembly of First Nations


Was Canada’s Rejection an opposition
to fundamental Human Rights?
“The fact that Canada remains one of the few hold-outs in endorsing the fundamental
rights of Aboriginal peoples, as identiﬁed in the Declaration, is unsustainable and
unworthy. Should Canada become the last country to oppose the Declaration, Canada
will be viewed by the rest of the world as being a country that does not support human
rights for Indigenous Peoples, and as standing in contempt of the expectations and
opinions of a more enlightened world,”
- Mary Simon, National Inuit Leader

"The negative vote by this government left a black mark on Canada's reputation in the
international arena when it comes to human rights,"
- Chief Picard


Why Did Canada Change Its Mind?

“We are now conﬁdent that Canada can interpret the principles expressed in the
Declaration in a manner that is consistent with our Constitution and legal
framework...the government decided it was better to endorse the Declaration and explain
its concerns, rather than reject the whole document.”
- Aboriginal Aﬀairs


Indigenous Issues in Canada

- Canadian Human Rights Act amended in 2007
- Proposal of Gender Equity in the Indian Registration Act
- Matrimonial Property Rights on Reserves

- Cut funding to 134 health centres for Indigenous peoples
- 4,464 toxic sites on reserve land


Does the Declaration
have authority?
“UN Declarations are generally not legally binding...Rather, it provides a detailing or
interpretation of the human rights enshrined in other international human rights
instruments of universal resonance –as these apply to indigenous peoples and indigenous
individuals. It is in that sense that the Declaration has a binding eﬀect for the promotion,
respect and fulﬁllment of the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide. “

- UN FAQ Sheet


Effectiveness
It is difficult to evaluate the precise effectiveness of the Declaration because it is simply a non-binding
agreement of how Indigenous Peoples should be treated. There was no codified standard to measure the
effectiveness of the treaty as it is meant as a framework to guide state interaction with Indigenous Peoples.

Aboriginal people historically have had limited political representation or an effective voice when it comes to
battling discrimination

“An authoritative common understanding, at the global level, of the minimum content of the rights of
indigenous peoples, upon a foundation of various sources of international human rights law”
-UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Mr.
S. James Anaya

The standards of UNDRIP are also being mainstreamed into the policies and programmes of the United
Nations and the specialized agencies of the ILO and UNESCO.

It is not effective in that it does not force immediate change but is in that it creates the legal precedent that
Aboriginal People have these rights which have been agreed to by all parties.


Eﬀectiveness

One way to judge is how article 38 is adopted. Article 38 provides that States shall
take appropriate measures, including legislation, to achieve the ends of the
Declaration

Indigenous People’s Rights Act in the Philippines

Bolivia’s National Law 3760 of 7 November 2001, which incorporates UNDRIP
without change

The Chief Justice in Aurelio Cal et al. v. Belize found that the 2007 Declaration
“embodying as it does, general principles of international law relating to indigenous
peoples and their lands and resources, is of such force that the defendants,
representing the Government of Belize, will not disregard it.”


Criticisms

“Indigenous peoples’ human rights and related State obligations are not
being eﬀectively aﬃrmed and integrated in multilateral environmental
agreements. Too often, international environmental forums and processes
operate in a framework that lacks a human rightsbased approach.”

-Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples


Example of Bolivia
Following the adoption of the UN declaration, the ﬁrst indigenous president, Evo
Morale, passed a national law that is an exact copy of the declaration.
“Plurinational state” as opposed to “democratic and intercultural state”
Bolivia became the ﬁrst country to adopt the declaration as a national law.


Lingering Problems
“The conditions faced by indigenous people in rural areas of Bolivia stand in sharp
contrast to the human rights and principles enshrined in the U.N. Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” (Inner Press Service)


Lingering Problems
The project on national highway
The president is in dilemma over whether to continue this project that could
potentially boost its economy or to support the indigenous people as he has always
been doing.


Controversies
“Incidents of mob rule are rising as Bolivian society is empowering as never before
indigenous communities” (LA Times)
Supported by the declaration, Bolivian President Evo Morales is planning to give the
country's indigenous majority greater powers to decide how to punish criminals within
their communities.
The new law allows indigenous people to settle disputes according to their own
cultural values
Four policemen were lynched to death after being accused of extortion.


New Zealand
April 2010 New Zealand signs UN Declaration

-Appeals sent to Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee of the United
Nations on behalf of Te Matarahurahu seeking to reclaim 2490 acres in
Aotearoa’s Bay of Islands, known as the 'Treaty Grounds'

-Article 32: "States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the
indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in
order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any
project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly
in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral,
water or other resources”

- Treaty of Waitangi (1840)


New Zealand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cka5S-VQG2U


Effectiveness
-“If the land is not returned, the New Zealand Government will be exposed in
front of the international community as failing to keep its obligations. It
will seriously dent the country’s credibility throughout the world” David
Rankin

-It is a "total waste of time" for Maori to try make claims under the
Declaration, Acting Prime Minister Bill English (2010)

-Reoccurring theme: Declaration as an aspiring document, lacking authority


Columbia

In many countries UN declarations have no real
eﬀect so organizations like Amnesty International
have pressured governments in other ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ahkFH_-4sE


Discussion

• What's the point of all this effort if it specifically says it is a non-binding agreement?

• Do you think that Indigenous people should be returned the land for their land claims? And to what
extent?

• What effect does this non-binding treaty have if countries like Canada simply state that some provisions
don’t apply to them?

• How much authority should indigenous people be given?

• Should criminal be judged by a national court or based on their own cultural values?

• Should indigenous people be given the right to judge criminals based on their own cultural values?


Conclusion


UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Similar to UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples