UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS SESSION ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES:
GENEVA, MARCH 26 - 27, 1998 résumé en français
Presention by Aggaluk Lynge, President, Inuit Circumpolar Conference .
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
First of all, thank you for allowing me to take the floor on indigenous peoples Issues.
I am the President of the inuit Circumpolar
Conference, which is an international organization representing 130.000 Inuit from Canada,
Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka from the Russian Federation. We obtained a status as
Non-Governmental Organization with consultative status within United Nations in 1983 and
have since then been actively and directly involved with the activities through the U.N.
Working Group On Indigenous Populations, mainly in drafting the Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples. which now is in the hands of the members of this important body,
Commission on Human Rights.
Mr. Chairman;
As you are aware, the drafting-process of this Draft Declaration has been on it.s way
in 11 years with direct participation of Indigenous Peoples from all over the world and it
was adopted by the Working Group On Indigenous Populations in 1994 and endorsed by the Sub
Commission On Prevention Of Discrimination And Protection Of Minorities on its 46th
session. In 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997, we from Inuit Circumpolar Conference, along with
other indigenous peoples organizations, representing all directions of the world accepted
the current text of the draft declaration as an expression of the minimum
international standards for the protection and promotion of our fundamental rights. Mr
Chairman; it is now 1998, and again we will respectfuily ask and request the members of
the Commission On Human Rights which Is the highest body in the world, dealing with human
rights, to adopt the Draft Declaration On Rights of Indigenous Peoples as it stands to
day, without any changes, amendments or deletions. We believe that the draft Declaration
is an integrated document which must be read as a whole.
Mr. Chairman;
Fundamental to the international standards for the Rights of indigenous Peoples is the concept of Self-determination, The arcticle on self-determination (article 3) of the Declaration is the foundation of the documentl it is reflected in virtually every provision of the draft Declaration through the use of the term "indigenous Peoples". The right to self-determination guarantees the cultural, civil, political, social and economic rights of Indigenous Peoples which also apply to the principles of the charter of the United Nations and other international instruments.
Again, I will request to the member States to use the opportunities of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights to adopt the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as it stands today.
Mr, Chairman;
The question of the possible establishment of a Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples within the United Nations system is still an ongoing issue, which was included in the Vienna Declaration and Programme on Actionl adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993.
In June last year, the second workshop was hosted by Chile and along with other
Indigenous Peoples representatives we supported the efforts to establish a Permanent Forum
for Indigenous Peoples within the U.N. system. Concrete proposals were made during the
Santiago de Chile workshop and we see the possible establishment of a Permanent Forum for
Indigenous Peoples within the U.N. system as an efficient and effective realization of the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Furthermore we see no obstacles of having
such a Permanent Forum established within the framework of the U.N.
Economic and Social Council composed of indigenous Peoples and Governments equally.
Mr. Chairman;
I will strongly recommend to the Commission on Human Rights that the Indigenous Peoples' direct participation and involvement in the process towards the establishment of a Permanent Forum schould be considered seriously.
We the Inuit also known as Eskimos have created our International Organization for more than 20 years ago. Thisd summer the 8th triennial General Assembly of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference will be held July 24 - 31, and all the membercountries, Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland will convene in Nuuk, Greeniand. The theme for the Assembly is "lnuit Spirit - for Global Partnership.
We believe that only through our participation in the global cooperation using the
existing international bodies our voice can be
heard .
We also believe that the world would be much smaller and far less colourfull as it is today if Inuit or the Indigenous World was not part of the Global Partnership.
For many years we have been part of this process discussing our rights back and forth
from one U.N. body to another. We believe it is now about time, that the adoption of this
Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People be completed, and we in the ICC are
willing to participate with our good spirit.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
UN Press release, résumé en français
M. AQQALUK LYNGE (Conférence circumpolaire inuit) a rappelé que la Conférence
circumpolaire
représente 130 000 Inuits du Canada, de l'Alaska, du Groenland et de Chukotka
(Fédération de Russie). Il
a rappelé que durant les années 1994 à 1997, la Conférence avait approuvé le texte
actuel du projet de
déclaration sur les droits des peuples autochtones. Aussi, a-t-il demandé une fois de
plus à la Commission
d'adopter ce projet en l’état, sans changement, sans amendement et sans suppression.
Il a affirmé que le
concept d'autodétermination est fondamental dans le cadre de l'élaboration de normes
internationales
relatives aux droits des peuples autochtones. Il a également recommandé à la Commission
d'envisager
sérieusement la participation directe des peuples autochtones au processus destiné à
établir une instance
permanente des populations autochtones au sein du système des NationsUnies. Les Inuits et
les autres
peuples autochtones doivent faire partie du partenariat mondial, a déclaré le
représentant de la Conférence
circumpolaire.