United Nations Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues 12th session, May 20 – 31, 2013
Agenda Item 6, Discussion on the
World Conference on Indigenous Peoples
Intervention by the International
Indian Treaty Council (IITC),
Presented by Roberto Borrero, May 27th,
2012
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
The International Indian Treaty
Council considers that the High-level Plenary of the UN General Assembly, to be
called the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, in the best case scenario, will
provide States, Indigenous Peoples and the UN System with an historic
opportunity to commit to strategies and mechanisms for the full and effective
implementation of the inherent rights affirmed by the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. To repeat, its focus and purpose must be
implementation.
We have expressed concerns, shared by
other Indigenous Peoples, that the World Conference might instead be used by some
States in an attempt to diminish, qualify or redefine the rights affirmed in this
hard fought minimum standard, or to limit the intended scope of its
implementation. We are firmly resolved
and will stand united with the Indigenous Peoples of the world to ensure that
this will not happen. Discrimination must
not be tolerated in any body or process of the United Nations which is based on
the fundamental principles of International human rights law and the tenants of
the UN Charter which include non-discrimination.
Unfortunately, we saw that our concerns
may well be justified when a blatantly discriminatory intervention was read last
week by the United States of America government representative in this body
under agenda item 7 addressing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. This intervention by the
United States is now available on the US State Department web page, the most objectionable
was their reiterated position that the rights of self-determination as
recognized under international law for ALL PEOPLES is somehow a different right
for Indigenous Peoples.
In fact, the US government tried but
failed over a number of years to include this discriminatory distinction in the
actual text of the UN Declaration itself during the development of the text in
Geneva. Although they were not able to
achieve the inclusion of such racially discriminatory language in the
Declaration itself, the US resurrected it when they decided to "lend their
support to the Declaration in December 2010.
At that time Indigenous Peoples did
not accept this attempt to redefine international law as affirmed in the UN
Charter and the Covenants, or to diminish the internationally recognized
minimum standard of the UN Declaration. We
do not accept it now. The representative
of the International Indian Treaty Council who spoke last week under the agenda
item 7 b challenged this attempt to redefine self-determination for Indigenous
Peoples. He pointed out that the over
300 legally binding Nation to Nation Treaties concluded by the US with
Indigenous Nations, identified by the US Constitution as the “Supreme Law of
the Land”, are both the evidence and affirmation of US recognition of this
right from the beginning of their contact with the Indigenous Nations of this
land.
We request that the United Nations
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at its 12th session make a
formal statement expressing its concern and joining with the Indigenous Peoples
of this land in rejecting discriminatory attempts by the United States or any other
State to diminish the rights affirmed in the UN Declaration in this body and at
the High Level Plenary which carries our name.
This is an historic opportunity for full and effective implementation,
in good faith and partnership. The time
for racial discrimination and all doctrines which justify it is the past. Their proper place is in the dust bin of
history.
For all our relations. Thank you.
