STATE OF THE WORLD's INDIGENOUs PEOpLEs - CINU

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EMBARGOED UNTIL 14 January 2010STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLESNot for distributionand Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (1989), the proclamation of the International Year of the World’sIndigenous People (1993) and, subsequently, the proclamation of two separate International Decades of theWorld’s Indigenous People (1995-2004 and 2005-2014). 3The First Decade, launched in 1994 and completed in 2004, adopted the special theme of “partnership in action”and its programme of action was meant to raise awareness about, and integrate, indigenous issues into theintergovernmental and, by extension, the governmental agendas. The First Decade helped to promote awarenessand solidified indigenous issues on the agenda of the United Nations and some of its agencies. Indigenouspeoples themselves also took advantage of the Decade, documenting and providing information about humanrights violations and carving themselves a niche within various international fora. During the course of the FirstDecade a number of other achievements were made: August 9 was declared as the annual International Day of the World’s Indigenous People The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoplewas appointed by the Commission on Human Rights A fellowship programme for indigenous people was established within the Office of the High Commissioneron Human Rights (OHCHR).The other major goal of the first Decade was the establishment of the United Nations Permanent Forum onIndigenous Issues, by the Economic and Social Council in 2000. Despite these important steps forward, a numberof challenges remained, most importantly the lack of implementation by states of programmes that promotethe development and rights of indigenous peoples and the United Nations’ role in assisting them. The otherunfinished matter was the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which had not been adoptedduring the first Decade, despite great efforts by all sides.In 1993, the Working Group completed a Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a documentheld in high esteem by indigenous peoples, created with their participation and expressing indigenous peoples’aspirations.In 1994, the Draft Declaration was approved by the Sub-Commission and, in 1995, the Commission on HumanRights established a Working Group to examine and fine-tune the Draft Declaration. The negotiations weredifficult and indigenous representatives again participated actively in the process, which eventually culminated,in June 2006, in the historic decision taken during its first session by the Human Rights Council—the body thatsucceeded the Commission on Human Rights—to adopt the Declaration. Just over a year later, on 13 September2007, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, whichmarked a major milestone in the work of the United Nations and indigenous peoples´ struggle for the protectionand promotion of their rights. 4The Working Group on indigenous populations was abolished in 2007 and replaced with the Expert Mechanismon the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 5 The Expert Mechanism is a subsidiary body of the Human Rights Council,composed of five experts, which provides thematic expertise on the rights of indigenous peoples to the Council,focusing mainly on studies and research-based advice. The Mechanism may also suggest proposals to theCouncil for consideration and approval, although the mechanism does not adopt resolutions or decisions.3United Nations Organization (2004).4United Nations General Assembly Resolution (2007).5The Expert Mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples.INTRODUCTION | 3
EMBARGOED UNTIL 14 January 2010STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLESNot for distributionIn 2001, the Commission on Human Rights decided to establish a Special Rapporteur on the human rights andfundamental freedoms of indigenous people to examine the situation of indigenous peoples worldwide on thebasis of communications received and country-specific visits. The first Special Rapporteur, Rodolfo Stavenhagen,a well-known Mexican anthropologist, presented annual reports to the Commission on Human Rights—and, since2006—to the Human Rights Council 6 and the General Assembly. Mr. Stavenhagen was succeeded by the NativeAmerican law professor, Mr. S. James Anaya on 1 May 2008.The establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in 2000 came after a ten-year processof international consultation following the Vienna Conference of 1993. The Forum has a broad mandate, namely todiscuss economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights and toadvise the Economic and Social Council and the United Nations system on all matters pertaining to its mandate,promote the coordination and integration of indigenous issues in the United Nations system, raise awarenessabout indigenous issues and produce information materials on indigenous issues. This high-level body in theUnited Nations’ hierarchy demonstrates the increasing political engagement of states in terms of cooperatingwith indigenous peoples to address a multiplicity of issues. More than 1,500 indigenous participants from all partsof the world attend the annual sessions of the UNPFII in New York, in addition to representatives from some 70countries and around 35 UN agencies and inter-governmental entities.The concept of indigenous peoplesIn the forty-year history of indigenous issues at the United Nations, and its even longer history at the ILO,considerable thinking and debate have been devoted to the question of the definition or understanding of“indigenous peoples”. But no such definition has ever been adopted by any United Nations-system body.One of the most cited descriptions of the concept of “indigenous” was outlined in the José R. Martínez Cobo’s Studyon the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations. After long consideration of the issues involved,Martínez Cobo offered a working definition of “indigenous communities, peoples and nations”. In doing so, heexpressed a number of basic ideas forming the intellectual framework for this effort, including the right of indigenouspeoples themselves to define what and who indigenous peoples are. The working definition reads as follows:Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity withpre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselvesdistinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them.They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, developand transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as thebasis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns,social institutions and legal system.This historical continuity may consist of the continuation, for an extended period reaching intothe present of one or more of the following factors:a. Occupation of ancestral lands, or at least of part of themb. Common ancestry with the original occupants of these lands6The Special Rapporteur’s reports may be accessed on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,www.ohchr.org4 | INTRODUCTION
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