Indigenous peoples in the international arena

The UN General Assembly has declared a new International Decade of Indigenous Peoples (2005-2014). In the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004), several important advances were made that have helped to improve the international framework conditions for indigenous peoples. One of the most important of these was the establishment of a Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues in the UN and the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.

The Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues

In 2001 the UN adopted a resolution to establish a Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues as an advisory body to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Since then, the Forum has convened annually in May. The Forum is the first time that governmental and non-governmental representatives have participated on an equal footing in a permanent representative body within the UN system. The Forum is an advisory, coordinating body for indigenous issues in the UN and is intended to help ensure that the various UN organisations include indigenous peoples in their work. It also makes recommendations to the UN member states. The fourth session of the Forum, which was held in May 2005, focused on the Millennium Development Goals and indigenous peoples.

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.

Another development of great positive significance for indigenous peoples is the appointment in 2001 by the UN Commission on Human Rights of the first Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedom of indigenous peoples. Rodolfo Stavenhagen from Mexico was the first to be appointed to this post.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur is to gather, request, receive and exchange information on violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples. His mandate also includes formulating recommendations and proposals on appropriate measures and activities to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people. The Special Rapporteur presents annual reports to the UN Commission on Human Rights. He makes visits to different countries and presents reports on the situation of indigenous peoples in these countries. (At present there are reports on the situation of indigenous peoples in Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, the Philippines, Colombia and Canada.) The Special Rapporteur also prepares thematic reports on specific topics related to indigenous peoples; there are reports, for instance, on education and issues related to customary law.

ILO Convention No. 169

ILO Convention No. 169 is the only binding instrument of international law that directly addresses the human rights of indigenous peoples and that is designed to protect indigenous peoples against injustices committed by states. The Convention affirms that indigenous peoples have the right to preserve and further develop their own culture and language. It contains provisions on the rights to natural resources and property and ownership rights to the land areas they use. These rights are crucial since the most important battle being fought by indigenous peoples in most countries is still to gain the right to use and own land and natural resources. Under the Convention, indigenous peoples are entitled to participate in decision-making processes on issues that concern them, thereby imposing an obligation on authorities to consult them on such issues. Norway played a proactive role in work on the Convention and was the first country to ratify it. Only 17 countries have ratified the Convention so far.

In addition to the ILO Convention, indigenous peoples are mentioned in a number of other international conventions, declarations and plans of action, which collectively constitute the international framework for the human rights of indigenous peoples.

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

One of the main goals of the first Decade of Indigenous Peoples, besides establishing a Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues in the UN, was to secure the adoption of a UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. Efforts to achieve this goal have been unsuccessful.

In 1993 the UN Working Group for Indigenous Peoples presented the Draft Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples to the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, which endorsed the draft document. Since then, the draft has been considered by a special working group under the UN Commission on Human Rights and these negotiations are still in progress. The issues of the relationship between individual and collective rights, the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination, and land rights have proved particularly problematic to negotiate. The mandate of the working group was recently extended by one year and new negotiations are scheduled for December 2005.

Multilateral donors

The fact that indigenous issues have been placed much higher on the agenda in the UN system has also led to greater focus on indigenous peoples in development cooperation by both multilateral and bilateral donors. The World Bank plays a key role in a great many countries where indigenous peoples live, due to its extensive lending and project activities and its proactive role in promoting national poverty reduction strategies. The World Bank finances a large number of development projects that direct affect the daily lives of indigenous peoples and their traditional lifestyles. The World Bank recently adopted new guidelines, Operational Policies 4.10, to ensure that account is taken of indigenous peoples in development projects financed by the Bank. These guidelines have been the object of several rounds of consultation with indigenous representatives and the Bank has been severely criticised for several aspects of the guidelines.