User:Emmaeadwyer/sandbox

include link to and info about UN document because OAS' dec. is a reaction to it

The American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was created in response to both the revision of Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 and the elaboration of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations. It seeks to elaborate on the United Nations Declaration by detailing rights specific to the indigenous communities within the Americas and the Caribbean. The Organization of American States has created a Working Group for the Draft American Declaration in 1997, but work on the Declaration was suspended in 2012 due to a lack of funding for the project. There has been much deliberation surrounding the content of the Declaration, but the OAS has set a goal to settle on a final draft that will be presented to their general body June 3-5, 2015.

=Purpose= "The American Declaration would affirm the right of self-determination, rights to education, health, self-government, culture, lands, territories and natural resources, and it would include provisions that address the particular situation of indigenous peoples in the Americas. The American Declaration will be a comprehensive, regional human rights instrument that promotes and protects the rights of indigenous peoples in North, Central, and South America, and in the Caribbean. Importantly, the American Declaration can be used to ensure that states respect indigenous peoples’ rights through its application within the Inter-American Human Rights System."

=Content= The most current version available of the Draft (created in Washington, D.C. on April 22, 2015) includes a Preamble, six Sections, and a statement made by the United States at the beginning of the seventeenth meeting of negotiations, which was the meeting producing the most recent version of the Draft.

Preamble
The document is prefaced by a series of considerations which the document is to be framed within. These include recognitions of the importance of indigenous peoples to the culture, diversity, and identity of the Americas, as well as to humanity as a whole. The importance of indigenous rights is acknowledged as "essential and of historic significance to the present and future of the Americas."

Section One: Indigenous Peoples. Scope of Application
Section One identifies the indigenous peoples of the Americas as the group the Declaration may be applied to and acknowledges the right of these indigenous peoples to self-identification and self-determination, while securing "the territorial integrity, or political unity, sovereignty, and independence of the States."

Section Two: Human Rights and Collective Rights
Section Two guarantees the rights to human rights, collective rights, and lays out protections against any kind of discrimination on the basis of race or gender, including assimilation, genocide, and other manifestations of intolerance.

Section Three: Cultural identity
Section Three outlines the right to cultural identity and integrity, systems of knowledge, language and communication, education, spirituality, family, health, and a healthy environment.

Section Four: Organizational and Political Rights
Section Four includes rights of association, assembly, and freedom of expression and thought, the right to autonomy or self-government, The right to utilize indigenous law and jurisdiction, the right to participate in decisions that concern them, and the right to enforce treaties, agreements, and other constructive arrangements.

Section Five: Social, Economic, and Property Rights
The right to land, territory, resources, labor rights, development, peace, security, protection, and protection of cultural heritage and intellectual property are described in Section Five. This Section also details that indigenous peoples are never to be "forcibly removed from their lands or territories" and retain the right to stay in "voluntary isolation or initial contact" if they wish to do so.

Section Six: General provisions
Section Six states that the states will do everything in their power to enforce the provisions of the Declaration, for men and women both. If the states fail to do so, indigenous peoples have the right to "judicial remedies" provided by the states. The Declaration may not be used to deny any human rights to any group in any way. The Declaration may not be used as a tool against the legal order of the states or internationally, and is to be interpreted in tandem with the "American Convention on Human Rights, [and] the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man." The final article in Section Six states that the Declaration serves as the minimum standard for the human rights of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Statement by the Delegation of the United States at the Seventeenth Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Consensus on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The statement of the United States, included as well on previous drafts, urges progress to be made on indigenous rights in more "practical" ways rather than creating a Declaration whose "working group remains deadlocked on key issues."

=Negotiation and Progress= "In 1989, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to prepare a legal instrument on the rights of "indigenous populations." In order to prepare the proposed instrument, the IACHR collected suggestions and comments from governments, indigenous organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and experts, through a series of questionnaires and national and regional meetings. More information about this process of consultation can be found in Chapter IV of the Commission's 1996 Annual Report, among other sources. (See page compiling the sections of the annual reports pertaining to the activities of the Office of the Rapporteur.) In February 1997, the Commission approved the Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In March 1997, the IACHR turned the draft declaration over to the OAS General Assembly, which in June of that same year instructed the Permanent Council to work on the draft. In June 1999, the General Assembly decided to establish a Working Group of the Permanent Council to continue consideration of the draft. In 2000, the IACHR approved a report entitled The Human Rights Situation of the Indigenous People in the Americas. Since the Working Group was established, special meetings have been held with the participation of representatives of indigenous peoples. Beginning with the special meeting held in April 2001, the participation of indigenous representatives was strengthened and considered necessary for the process of discussion on the draft declaration to move forward. This was reflected in General Assembly Resolution No. 1780, dated June 5, 2001, which recommended that the Permanent Council continue "pursuing mechanisms for the accreditation and the appropriate means of participation in its deliberations of representatives of indigenous peoples so that their observations and suggestions may be taken into account." Since 2000, the IACHR, through its specialists in the Office of the Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has advised the respective chairpersons of the Working Group regarding the process of discussion of the draft declaration and the preparation of the special meetings that have taken place. It has also contributed to the preparation by the chairmanship of the Working Group of working documents which seek to consolidate the different text proposals made to the draft declaration to date, whether by delegations of the States, representatives of indigenous peoples, specialized bodies of the OAS, or independent experts." from http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/indigenous/activities/declaration.asp

=Reactions=

United States
"STATEMENT BY THE DELEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE SIXTEENTH MEETING OF NEGOTIATIONS IN THE QUEST FOR POINTS OF CONSENSUS ON THE DRAFT AMERICAN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (Washington, D.C., February 9, 2015)

Mr. Chair:

The United States continues to believe the OAS can be mobilized to make a practical difference in the lives of indigenous peoples. We reiterate our belief that there are ways to focus the OAS to make practical differences in the lives of indigenous peoples, rather than continuing to focus exclusively on negotiating a declaration.

We note that negotiations on this text have gone on for eighteen (18) years, and that the working group remains deadlocked on key issues..

The United States remains committed to addressing the urgent issues of indigenous peoples in the hemisphere, including combating societal discrimination against indigenous peoples, increasing indigenous participation in national political processes, addressing lack of infrastructure and poor living conditions in indigenous areas, and collaborating on issues of land rights and self governance.

The delegation of the United States reiterates the general reservation we noted at the beginning of the Tenth Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus, as set forth in informational document GT/DADIN/INF. 31/07, and requests that that document and this statement be included in the official written record of this session.

Thank you, Mr. Chair."

Argentina
"At the Eleventh Meeting of Negotiations the delegation of Argentina stated that the article raises doubts regarding the scope of the measures referred to, bearing in mind that this is a Declaration, not a Plan of Action. It therefore reserves its right to formulate comments and proposals in the future."

"At the Sixth Meeting of Negotiations the delegation of Argentina entered a reservation with respect to the terms “lands and territories” until the scope of their meaning throughout the text of the declaration is reviewed."

Mexico
"The delegation of Mexico joined in the consensus reached on this article at the Sixth Meeting of Negotiations. However, Mexico reserves the right to request reconsideration of the final part of paragraph 2 of this article which reads: “These policies shall include the necessary measures to prevent, prohibit, and punish any unauthorized intrusion in their lands and territories” if it is not reflected elsewhere in the Declaration." (in reference to article XXVI, subsection 2 which reads "The states shall adopt adequate policies and measures with the knowledge and participation of indigenous peoples and organizations to recognize, respect, and protect the lands, territories, environment, and cultures of these peoples as well as their life, and individual and collective integrity. (Agreed upon by consensus in October, 2005 – Sixth Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus) " =The Future= THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RECALLING resolution AG/RES. 2724 (XLII-O/12) and all pertinent previous resolutions;

HAVING SEEN the report of the Chair of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the activities carried out in 2012-2013 (GT/DADIN/doc. XXX/13);

RECOGNIZING the importance of contributions to the Specific Fund to Support the Elaboration of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which permit effective participation by indigenous representatives in the meetings of negotiation; UNDERSCORING / RECOGNIZING the proposal to use information and communication technologies in the work of the Working Group (GT/DADIN/doc.426/13 rev. 5) in order to facilitate a prompt conclusion to the negotiations of the Declaration and the effective participation of the indigenous peoples in said negotiations, given the difficulties encountered by the Working Group in obtaining contributions to the aforementioned Specific Fund: a proposal that is being considered by the representatives of the indigenous peoples,

RESOLVES:

1.	To reaffirm the will and the commitment of the OAS member states with the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples process.

2.	To renew the mandate of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to continue holding its Meetings of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus, so as to complete the drafting of the Declaration, on the basis of the “Record of the current status of the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” (document GT/DADIN/doc.XXX) and taking into consideration the “Compendium of Proposals of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus held by the Working Group” (GT/DADIN/doc.XXX), issued by the Fourteenth Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus and other pertinent documents of the Working Group.

3.	To request the Permanent Council to instruct the Working Group to:

a.	Hold up to two three-day Meetings of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus prior to the forty-fourth regular session of the General Assembly;

b.	Convene the Meetings of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples three months in advance; and

c.	Take the appropriate measures to ensure the effective participation in these meetings of member states and representatives of the indigenous peoples.

4.	To invite the member states to conduct consultations or dialogues on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with the respective indigenous peoples.

5.	To request the Selection Board of the Specific Fund to Support the Elaboration of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to continue to work according to the principles of transparency established in resolution CP/RES. 951 (1691/09) “Specific Fund to Support the Elaboration of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

6.	To urge the member states, permanent observers, and institutions to contribute to the Specific Fund during the period covered by this resolution.

7.	To request the General Secretariat and the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization to continue to lend their valuable support to the process of drafting the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and to thank them for their ongoing contribution to that process.

8.	To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its forty-fourth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, the execution of which shall be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

=Notes= =Citations= =References= =External links=