pathways 3: WILL THEY ... OR WON'T THEY ... SIGN?

pathways, August 2007

 

 

The proposed Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was expected to be adopted by the General Assembly last year, but due to fierce objections from several  countries, including Australia and New Zealand, it was set aside for further negotiations.

 

Those unwilling to sign the declaration have expressed strong reservations about parts of the text calling for recognition of the indigenous peoples' right to self-determination and control over their natural resources.  They have described the draft declaration as "fundamentally flawed", and thus have refused to accept the indigenous representatives' assertion that their people have the right to self-determination.

 

Speaking on behalf of the world's first peoples, Mr Les Malezer, an Australian Aborigine and chairman of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus, told reporters at a July news conference: "We have our own societies, laws and languages, and a unique relationship with the natural world."

 

Australian Passionist priest, Kevin Dance, the Passionists' International representative at the United Nations, New York, said that the declaration was likely to return to the UN General Assembly for debate and a vote early in September.

 

"The Indigenous people, themselves, just want it put to the vote," he said.

 

Unlike a Convention, a Declaration is not legally binding on a country, although it  carries moral weight and would be quoted in shaping decision.

 

The long history (see below) of painful, detailed negotiation and compromise, seemed to be coming to a happy end when, in June 2006, the newly-established Human Rights Council, in its first session in Geneva, adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 30 votes to two (Canada and Russia) with 12 abstentions.

 

When it reached the UN General Assembly in November/December 2006, the Plenary session sent it for consideration to the GA Third Committee that deals with humanitarian and cultural matters.

 

There, it did not enjoy consensus, with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, the CANZUS group, leading the opposition. The African Group of States, represented by Namibia, stirred by this opposition, called a delay on the vote and further consultations.  This vote in the Plenary session of the General Assembly was carried, 82 in favour, 67 against, with 25 abstentions.

 

Between December 2006 and June 2007, according to Fr Dance, the CANZUS group undertook very heavy lobbying of African States. It also drew in Suriname, Guyana, Colombia and Russia (countries with poor records in protecting the human rights of their indigenous people) in opposing the Declaration.

 

Fr Dance expects that the Declaration will return to the GA for debate and vote early next month, with Canada (once in strong support of the Declaration) taking the lead in further delaying the vote by attempting to re-open the text of the declaration for debate, or making amendments from the floor.

 

"One can only wonder why Australia and these other countries are taking such a strong stand against the Declaration," he said, "especially as at this very moment indigenous people in so many parts of the world are experiencing marginalisation, discrimination from their own governments and have consistently poor levels of education, health and life expectancy."

 

According to Amnesty International, the Declaration fills an important gap as it addresses Indigenous Peoples' protection against discrimination and genocide, reaffirms their right to maintain their unique cultural traditions and recognises their right of self-determination, including secure access to lands and resources essential for their survival and welfare.

 

In a statement issued ahead of last year's UN meeting, Amnesty International said that the Declaration was "the product of unique collaboration between states and indigenous peoples themselves.

 

"The result is a text that is grounded in existing rights protections but that also provides states with the necessary guidance on ensuring indigenous peoples effective means to enjoy their rights, recognizing their distinct aspirations and their unique ways of life."

An international petition, organised by the Grand Council of the Crees and Amnesty International Canada and calling for all States to sign the declaration, is still open for signature.

 

 

 

 

1923 - Haudenosaunee Chief Deskaheh travels to the League of Nations in Geneva to defend the rights of his people to live under their own laws, on their own land and under their own faith. He was not allowed to speak, but his vision nourishes the generations that follow.

 

1924 - Maori leader T.W. Ratana goes first to London to complain to the King, and then to Geneva, to denounce the breaking of the Treaty of Waitangi made with the Maori people. The League did not allow him to address it either.

 

1982 - The United Nations Economic and Social Council's Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights establishes a Working Group on Indigenous Populations to report on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.

 

1985-1993 - As part of their work, members of the Working Group, with the full participation of indigenous peoples, draft a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

1993 - The Working Group adopts the Declaration and sends it to the Sub-Commission, which in turn approves it and sends it to the Commission on Human Rights.

 

March 3, 1995 - The General Assembly declares the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1993-2004). Soon after, the Commission on Human Rights establishes its own Working Group to elaborate the draft Declaration.

 

1995-2004 - The new Working Group, with the regular input of indigenous peoples and NGOs, meets annually, but fails to reach consensus by the end of the Decade.

 

April 20, 2005 - The Commission on Human Rights adopts resolutions to continue the work of both the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) and the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous.

 

February 2006 - Luis-Enrique Chavez of Peru, Chairman of the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, writes compromise wording for the handful of articles still under debate and submits his text of the Declaration to the Human Rights Commission.

 

June 29, 2006 - At its inaugural session, the Human Rights Council (which replaced the Commission on Human Rights) adopts the Declaration, by a vote of 30 in favor, 2 against, and 12 abstentions.

 

November 28, 2006 - The Declaration goes to the Third Committee of the General Assembly, but Namibia puts forward a proposal on behalf of the Group of African States to delay the vote. The proposal is adopted by a vote of 82 in favor, 67 against, and 25 abstentions. Action on the Declaration is deferred until the end of the General Assembly's session in September 2007.

 

December 2006 - The UN General assembly adopts the third Committee's proposal to postpone a vote on the Declaration. The Resolution states that the GA will complete consideration of the Declaration before the end of the 61st Session that concludes in the middle of September 2007.