Lamenting the enduring
manifestations of the “Doctrine of Discovery” and other morally
condemnable, socially unjust and racist policies used for centuries by
colonizers as legal justification to disenfranchise indigenous peoples
and seize their lands, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today
urged the rejection of such “nefarious” dogmas, and encouraged measures
that would redefine relations between native and aboriginal peoples and
the State based on justice.
As the Permanent Forum —
the United Nations expert advisory body dealing with the human, economic
and social rights of indigenous peoples — concluded its eleventh
session, it approved a set of nine draft recommendations, highlighted by
a text approved on the special theme, the ongoing impact of the
Discovery Doctrine on indigenous peoples and the right redress (document
E/C.19/2012/L.2).
That fifteenth century Christian principle was denounced throughout the
session as the “shameful” root of all the discrimination and
marginalization indigenous peoples faced today.
The Permanent Forum noted that, while such doctrines of domination and “conquest”, including terra nullis
and the Regalian doctrine, were promoted as authority for land
acquisition, they also encouraged despicable assumptions: that
indigenous peoples were “savages”, “barbarians”, “inferior and
uncivilized,” among other constructs the colonizers used to subjugate,
dominate and exploit the lands, territories and resources of native
peoples. According to the text, signs of such doctrines were still
evident in indigenous communities, including in the areas of: health;
psychological and social well-being; conceptual and behavioural forms of
violence against indigenous women; youth suicide; and the hopelessness
that many indigenous peoples experience, in particular indigenous youth.
Noting that the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, treaty body
jurisprudence and case law from all major international human rights
institutions confirmed that indigenous peoples hold collective rights to
the lands, territories and resources that they had traditionally owned,
occupied or otherwise used, the Forum said that “such rights have the
same legal status as all other property rights [and] States are no
longer allowed to deploy positivist legal interpretations of laws
adopted during an era when doctrines such as terra nullis were
the norm”. The Declaration also demanded that States rectify past
wrongs caused by such doctrines through law and policy reform.
By its text, the Permanent
Forum reiterated that redefining the relationship between indigenous
peoples and the State was an important way to understand the discovery
doctrines and to develop a vision of the future for reconciliation,
peace and justice. “To that end, [the Declaration] provides a strong
human rights framework and standards for the redress of such false
doctrines, notably in articles 3, 28 and 37,” the text states, also
encouraging the conduct of the processes of reconciliation “in
accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, and respect for
human rights, equality, non-discrimination, good governance and good
faith”.
In his closing remarks,
Grand Chief Edward John, Chairman of the Forum, welcomed the adoption of
the recommendations, saying it was indeed necessary to redress the many
issues that had emerged over the years the doctrine had been in place.
There was a pressing need for indigenous peoples to rediscover and to
celebrate their own cultures and heritage. The challenge now was to
enter a new area in which the effects of the doctrine of discovery did
not continue to be felt by indigenous peoples in the countries in which
they lived, he said.
The discussions throughout
the session had highlighted that it was important for the Permanent
Forum to continue to provide the space for discussion of such issues.
He also noted that the high-level event held yesterday to mark the fifth
anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration had been “highly
successful despite being bumped from the General Assembly Hall at the
last minute”. That Declaration was a reaffirmation of the collective
rights of all indigenous peoples.
The other texts adopted by
the Permanent Forum today touched on the topics it covered during its
eleventh session, which opened at Headquarters on 7 May. Along with the
Doctrine of Discovery, the texts contained recommendations on human
rights; food sovereignty; violence against indigenous women and girls;
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); arrangements for
the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples; and emerging issues.
The recommendations were introduced and orally amended by Rapporteur
Megan Davis.
Also approved were three
draft decisions recommending the following: that the Council decide to
authorize a three-day expert group meeting on “Indigenous Youth:
identity, challenges and hope”; that the Council decide that the twelfth
session of the Permanent Forum shall be held at Headquarters from 20 to
31 May 2013; and that the Council take note of the provisional agendas
of the Permanent Forum’s eleventh and twelfth sessions. They will be
forwarded to the Economic and Social Council for final action.
Adopting a concise text on human rights matters (document E/C.19/2012/L.9),
the Permanent Forum noted that, since the adoption of the Declaration
five years ago, very few States had entered into effective dialogue or
partnerships or undertaken adequate legal reforms to implement its
tenets. “Alarmed by ongoing human rights violations” the Forum’s
members called on all States to bring an end to such violations and to
recognize and respect the standards set out in the Declaration. Urging
all States to provide detailed implementation reports to the Forum, the
experts recommended public education initiatives and best practices in
respect of the Declaration.
Mindful of the human
rights violations experienced by indigenous peoples, the experts
encouraged States, in particular those in the Pacific region, to
recognize and implement the basic fundamental rights articulated in the
Declaration, particularly the right to self-determination. Further, the
Forum urged States to promote models for the health, social, legal and
other sectors of indigenous communities and service providers to follow
in implementing the Declaration. It was recommended that the World
Health Organization (WHO) revisit its report on social determinates of
health to address the cultural determinates of health, such as land,
language, ceremony, and identity, “which are essential for the health
and well-being of indigenous peoples”.
In a wide-ranging text
containing draft recommendations on the arrangements for the
much-anticipated 2014 World Conference (document E/C.19/2012/L.5), the
Permanent Forum emphasized that equal, direct and meaningful
participation by indigenous peoples throughout all stages of the
preparations for the Conference was essential “for the international
community’s achievement of a constructive and comprehensive outcome
which will genuinely improve the status and conditions of indigenous
peoples worldwide”. In that regard, the Forum welcomed the
establishment of an international coordinating group and its efforts to
realize such participation over the next two years of preparations.
It also welcomed the
decision of the President of the sixty-sixth session of the General
Assembly to appoint the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United
Nations, Luis Alfonso de Alba, and the international representative of
the Saami Parliament of Norway, John Henriksen, to conduct inclusive
informal consultations on his behalf, with a view to determining the
modalities for the World Conference, including substantive participation
of indigenous peoples. The Assembly President was also called on to
share with Member States the suggestions and recommendations emanating
from the Permanent Forum’s half-day dialogue, held on 14 May, on
preparations for the World Conference (see Press Release HR/5092).
While calling on Member
States to intensify their efforts to adopt arrangements for the
Conference “as soon as possible and before the end of the sixty-sixth
session”, the Permanent Forum goes on to recommend that the event
consist of a two–day high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly,
as well as round tables and interactive dialogues and be co-chaired by
representatives of Governments and indigenous peoples. It should be
held in September, ahead of the Assembly’s annual general debate, to
encourage the highest level of political participation. It was also
recommended that a two-day thematic debate be convened ahead of the
World Conference.
As for WIPO, and the work
of that agency’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property
and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, the Permanent
Forum adopted a text recommending that WIPO seek the participation of
experts on international human rights law specifically concerning
indigenous peoples, so they could provide input into the Committee’s
substantive consultation process, especially regarding language and how
indigenous peoples were characterized (document E/C.19/2012/l.4).
The Geneva-based
Intergovernmental Committee is in the midst of text-based negotiations
towards reaching agreement on an international legal instrument which
would ensure the effective protection of traditional knowledge,
traditional cultural expressions, folklore and genetic resources. The
Permanent Forum, therefore, demanded that WIPO recognize and respect the
applicability and relevance of the Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples “as a significant international human rights
instrument” that must inform the Intergovernmental Committee process and
the overall work of WIPO.
Expressing concern
regarding the continued violence against indigenous women and girls, the
Permanent Forum also adopted a text endorsing the report and
recommendations of the international expert group meeting on combating
that scourge (document E/C.19/2012/L.3)
and requested that that report form part of the official documentation
of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women in
2013. It further recommended that the United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the bureau of the
2013 session of the Women’s Commission include indigenous women as
experts on violence against women in planned interactive panels, and
guarantee the participation of indigenous women in both the preparatory
process and during the session.
The Permanent Forum also
adopted a text that contained recommendations emanating from its
half-day discussions on the right of indigenous peoples to food and food
sovereignty, held on 14 May (document E/C.19/2012/L.10). (See Press Release HR/5092.)
Noting that indigenous rights to food sovereignty were inextricably
linked to the collective recognition of the rights to land and
resources, and culture and social organization, the experts welcomed the
legal reforms and policies carried out in some States to recognize
those rights.
Noting also that the
levels of hunger are often disproportionately higher in indigenous
communities, the Permanent Forum encouraged States to take positive
actions to facilitate that capacity of indigenous peoples to strengthen
traditional food systems, through, among others, formally recognizing
and demarcating indigenous territories to enable them to better carry
out productive food activities.
Regarding its discussions
on Central and Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, Central Asia and
Transcaucasia (see Press Release HR/5091), the Permanent Forum approved another set of recommendations (document E/C.19/2012/L.10),
noting that the peoples of those regions, though small in number, were
among the world’s most ethnically diverse. They faced myriad
challenges, including low life expectancy and dispossession of their
lands, and their languages were under serious threat of disappearing.
“One of the main challenges is that [they] do not have access to
mechanisms to ensure the protection of their rights”, the Permanent
Forum says, adding that those indigenous peoples, largely involved in
reindeer herding, also needed to be more involved in local politics and
decision-making on issues that involved them.
With those issues in mind,
the experts recommended an increase in decision-making mechanisms for
their participation in matters concerning land use and resources
exploration and exploitation, and access to free legal advice regarding
development issues. They also urged the Governments in the region,
including the Russian Federation, to “work in good faith with
indigenous peoples for the unqualified endorsement and full
implementation of the Declaration”. Those Governments were also urged
to implement other international instruments regarding indigenous land
rights, including through recognizing reindeer herders’ use and
management of grazing land and the use of necessary biological resources
by hunters, fishers and foragers.
As to its future work, the
Forum appointed several of its members to undertake studies or reviews
in a number of areas relevant to its mandate. Those include a study on
the right to participation in decision-making processes of indigenous
youth in the Nordic countries; a review of the World Bank’s operational
policies on indigenous peoples to determine to what extent they
respected the Declaration on Indigenous Rights; a study on the situation
of indigenous peoples with disabilities; and a study on the impact of
the mining boom upon indigenous peoples’ communities in Australia. Also
recommended was a study on the elaboration of an optional protocol to
the Declaration.
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