STATE OF THE WORLD's INDIGENOUs PEOpLEs - CINU

EMBARGOED UNTIL 14 January 2010STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLESNot for distributionInternational law and indigenous land rightsEnvironmental protection cannot be discussed from an indigenous perspective without first looking at indigenouspeoples’ rights to lands and territories and the natural resources pertaining to these lands, and the internationaltreaties dealing with these rights.ILO Convention Nos. 107 and No. 169The first international treaty to specifically deal with indigenous rights was ILO (International Labour Organization)Convention No. 107 Concerning the Protection and Integration of Indigenous and other Tribal and Semi-TribalPopulations in Independent Countries, adopted in 1959. This Convention recognized the indigenous peoples’ right,among other things, of ownership, collective or individual, of the lands they traditionally occupy (Article 11).Criticized for its assimilationist approach, Convention No. 107 was replaced in 1989 by Convention No. 169Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. This Convention also recognizes indigenouspeoples’ land rights, defining territory as including “the total environment of the areas which the peoples concernedoccupy or otherwise use”. 56 It establishes their right to “the natural resources pertaining to their lands, includingthe right to participate in the use, management and conservation of these resources”. 57 Article 15.2 specificallyprovides rights to fair consultation, participation in the benefits, and compensation for any damages sustainedas a result of exploration and exploitation of sub-surface resources. It also establishes their right to be consultedand to freely participate at all levels of decision-making “in bodies responsible for policies and programmeswhich concern them”, 58 and to control their own institutions, ways of life and economic development.The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples also provides new international guidelines,such as the right to develop strategies for the development or use of indigenous peoples’ lands and resources.Going beyond ILO 169 on this matter, the Declaration affirms that states not only have to consult indigenouspeoples about projects that affect them, but have “to obtain their free and informed consent” prior to theprojects’ approval, particularly in connection with the development, use or exploitation of mineral, water orother resources.The Earth Summit (1992)As already mentioned, the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), commonly referredto as the Earth Summit, was a turning point for indigenous peoples. Not only were they recognized as a “majorgroup” of civil society but, for the first time, they were able to participate in and influence processes relating tothe environment.UNCED led to the adoption of some of the most important treaties on the environment, namely, the 1992 Conventionon Biological Diversity and the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In addition,several non-binding documents were adopted: the Declaration on Environment and Development—known as theRio Declaration; Agenda 21; and the non-legal, non-binding Forest Principles. Most of these documents containprovisions on indigenous concerns.56ILO Convention No. 169, Article 13.257ILO Convention No. 169, Articles 14.1 and 15.1.58ILO Convention No. 169, Article 6.1.THE ENVIRONMENT | 99