International Indian Treaty Council
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
résumé en français
Fifty-fourth Session
March 25, 1998
Oral Intervention delivered by Roseanne Oguin
Agenda item 23: Indigenous issues
Thank you Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission and distinguished Indigenous delegates. The International Indian Treaty Council extends a heartfelt thank you to the distinguished representatives of Greenland for its conscience and efforts on behalf of our Peoples.
Next year, 1999, will mark the conclusion of the first half of the International
Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples. At this juncture it is
imperative to reflect upon the results of the moral commitments made by States in
the Declaration of the Decade, adopted without a vote by the UN General Assembly on
December 21 1993, and also upon the commitments made
which have yet to be fulfilled.
The moral underpinning of the General Assembly resolution 48/163 initiating the Decade is its various references to "cooperation " and "partnership" with Indigenous Peoples to resolve the critical problems we face, and to undertake a concrete plan of action for doing so during the Decade.
Mr. Chairman, true partnership is based on mutual recognition and consensual decision-making. As Indigenous Peoples, we have yet to see such partnerships implemented within the national systems in which we are living or be incorporated comprehensively and formally into the process of international standard-setting.
For example, the recognition of Indigenous Peoples' right to development, land rights
and right to self-determination have not been incorporated into the Convention on
Biological Diversity, despite the unified stand of Indigenous Peoples as expressed at the
June 1997 UN General Assembly Earth Summit +5, the workshop on the CBD's Article 8j in
Madrid in November of
last year, and all three past sessions of the Conference of the Parties.
The Convention recognizes Indigenous Peoples' contributions and traditional knowledge in this field without any corresponding mechanisms to safeguard our fundamental rights to protect this knowledge from unwanted commercial exploitation under the mantle of so-called "benefit sharing".
Commercial appropriation of biological resources and rampant non-sustainable development practices imposed upon Indigenous Peoples' traditional lands by states and corporations continue unabated, with catastrophic impacts on the specific problem areas mentioned in the Decade Resolution such as human rights, the environment, development and health. These practices constitute serious violations of Indigenous Peoples' basic human rights which must be corrected through appropriate and effective international safeguards against what has become known as "biological piracy".
In addition, mechanisms must be implemented without delay to include Indigenous Peoples formally in discussions and deliberations pertaining to the CBD and the vital issues it addresses by the establishment of a working group at COP IV in Slovakia in May of this year.
Addressing another critical matter Mr. Chairman, there has as yet been little progress
regarding the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples, which would provide a mechanism for
redressing critical problems within the UN system. This is a central stated
objective of the Decade. The IITC delegation voices our support for the proposal of
the Danish government to
create an Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group at the level of the Commission on Human Rights
which will draw up a draft mandate for a permanent forum to enable the establishment of
this essential forum in partnership with Indigenous Peoples before the Decade ends.
Another key objective for Indigenous Peoples during the International Decade is the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We have reiterated in a variety of international fora, in unity with hundreds of Indigenous Peoples, our firm support for the adoption of the current text of the Declaration as approved by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the Subcommission in its unqualified use of the term "Peoples", recognition of the internationally-affirmed right to Self-Determination and the recognition of traditional land rights.
In this regard, our delegation voices its strong support for the continuation of the Intersessional Open-ended Working Group for the elaboration of this document established by the Commission on Human Rights in 1995.
The IITC is gratified by the progress which has been made in the three years of the Intersessional Working Group's existence, although we recognize that the problems, inequities and frustrations inherent in this type of undertaking within the UN system have resulted in approval of only two articles to date.
The open discussions which took place during the last session, October 27 - November 7 1997, were exciting demonstrations of this progress, in particular the exchange of views among the States and Indigenous Peoples' delegations regarding the Right to Self-Determination, Article 3 of the Draft Declaration.
It is our hope that such frank sharing of views and concerns, conducted in the spirit of cooperation with equal right of participation and consensual decision-making, will be carried forward into future sessions of the Intersessional Working Group. Such open interchange represents an important and historic step in the implementation of a new relationship among Peoples of this world based on friendly relations, mutual recognition and respect. This kind of dialogue may also eventually result in a Declaration which all participants and affected Peoples will be able to support.
We congratulate Chairperson-Rapporteur Mr. Jose Urrutia for presiding over this
unprecedented and historic discussion on the Right to Self-determination for Indigenous
Peoples. The International Indian Treaty Council strongly encourages the Commission
on Human Rights to recognize the progress that is being made and to renew the mandate of
the Intersessional
Working Group on the Draft Declaration during this session, as well as its
commitment to a process of full and open participation for Indigenous Peoples and
organizations.
Thank you Mr. Chairman
With prayers for all our Relations.
UN Press release, résumé en français
MME ROSEANNE OLGUIN (Conseil international de traités indiens) a souligné que
l'appropriation, à des
fins commerciales, des ressources naturelles ainsi que les pratiques de développement
non-durable qui sont
imposées aux terres traditionnelles des populations autochtones par divers États et par
certaines sociétés
transnationales restent pratique courante. Elle a apporté son soutien à la proposition
du Danemark visant à ce
que la Commission établisse un groupe de travail spécial qui serait chargé d'élaborer
un projet de mandat
pour l'instance permanente des populations autochtones au sein du système des
NationsUnies. Elle a
également exprimé le souhait que la Commission renouvelle cette année le mandat du
Groupe de travail
intersession chargé d'élaborer un projet de déclaration sur les droits des peuples
autochtones ainsi que son
engagement en faveur d'une pleine participation des peuples et organisations autochtones
aux travaux de ce
groupe.