Global Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus
Seventeenth Session of the UNPFII
16–27 April 2018
We note the dominant themes of our Global Indigenous
Peoples’ Caucus for 2018 as being self determination, indigenous justice, the
doctrine of discovery, access to Indigenous lands territories and resources,
and water sovereignty – which includes our rights to define our own freshwater and ocean policies
which are ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to
our unique circumstances. We note the continued contamination of water for the
purposes of resource extraction and nuclear weapons industries. Access to
justice for Indigenous Peoples remains an issue, in particular for Indigenous
women, Indigenous children, and Indigenous defenders of lands, resources,
territories and human rights. With this in mind the caucus offers the following
recommendations:
1. We echo
president Evo Morales’ call in 2008 for a UN Convention on Water, to be
developed with full participation of Indigenous Peoples. The water is life
issue reminds the world community of the need for action to protect, and enhance
water quality by first aligning all initiatives related to water with the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We assert our human right to
water and the role of water in our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual,
communal and environmental wellbeing. We take a position against aquacide, the
killing of the waters.
2. That the
Permanent Forum request a report on the implementation of the recommendations
made, to be submitted to the forum at its 18th session, in 2019. The report should
analyse the challenges as well as the associated factors that United Nations
agencies and funds, member states and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations have
faced.
3. We call upon
the UN to put in place monitoring systems to protect Indigenous Peoples and
secure their rights to justice. Concerns continue around the violations of
human rights of Indigenous women, children and water and land protectors.
Disproportionate incarceration, serious
injury, and death are all linked to the criminalization of Indigenous rights to
land and water protection.
4. We further call
upon the Permanent Forum to put in place a monitoring system to promote and
protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples reporting to the Permanent Forum in
their capacity as Indigenous communicators and human rights defenders.
5. We call upon
the Permanent Forum to continue to advance the work and recommendations of the
UN Preliminary Study on the Impact of the Doctrine of Discovery (2010), the
Study on Cross-border issues (2015), and update the Treaty Study by Dr. Miguel
Alfonso Martinez (1999), without discrimination and in full recognition and
respect for the Rights of Self Determination of Indigenous Peoples, "Equal to all other peoples...".
This report should be a full comprehensive and complete report that focuses on
the systemic violations on the rights of the Original Nations of Indigenous
Peoples, and should extend to the
co-development of treaty-centered national constitutions. We remain
disappointed that there has been little in the way of education on the ongoing
human rights violations normalized by the perpetuation of colonial doctrines,
with increased potential for miseducation in the memorializing of the illegal
invasions of Indigenous territories.
6. We further recommend
that the Permanent Forum reiterate their call for member states to repudiate
all instances of the discovery doctrine, and that states discontinue the
memorializing of colonial invaders through official holidays, monuments and
events.
7. We echo the
2017 calls of Chief Oren Lyons and member state South Africa for the
advancement of a Convention for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and recommend
that a working group be established, led by Indigenous Peoples, to consider
advancing towards a United Nations Convention on the rights of Indigenous
Peoples. It is our view that self determination on our own terms will remain
elusive while inaction towards a Convention persists. This evidenced in the
continued difficulties of access for Indigenous Peoples to the Permanent Forum
for Indigenous Issues.
8. As a recourse
for peoples who face political persecution for presenting, or experience
continued barriers to attending, we call for the return of prioritisation to
the Global Indigenous Peoples and Womens’ Caucuses.
9. Furthermore, we
reaffirm that our participation, advice and recommendations to the UN Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues as Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples in defense
of the Territorial Integrity of Mother Earth, does not constitute the
devolution or reduction of the Mandate of Indigenous Peoples now or in the
Future Generations.
8.
