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8/2/2019 Handbook. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
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The United NationsDeclaration on the Rightso Indigenous Peoples With an Introduction or IndigenousLeaders in the United States
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The United NationsDeclaration on the Rightso Indigenous Peoples With an Introduction orIndigenous Leaders in theUnited States
2012 The University o Arizona Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program
This handbook is produced by the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Programo The University o Arizona, James E. Rogers College o Law with generoussupport rom Ford Foundation.
Graphic Design by Ariel Mack, The University o Arizona.
Photos courtesy o The University o Arizona.
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ContentsThis Handbook contains two parts: the frst is an introduction
to the Declaration and the second is the text itsel .
An Introduction to the Declaration onthe Rights o Indigenous Peoples .............. 9What is the United Nations Declaration onthe Rights o Indigenous Peoples? ................................. 9
The Adoption o the Declaration bythe United Nations .......................................................... 9
The United States Endorsement othe Declaration ............................................................ 10
Indigenous Peoples in the United States .......................11
The Origins o the Declaration .......................................11
Is the Declaration on the Rights oIndigenous Peoples Legally Binding? ...........................12
Using the Declaration ....................................................15
Using the Declaration within the United States
and at Home .................................................................15
Using the Declaration Internationally ...........................16
The Content o the Declaration .....................................18
The Human Rights Foundations othe Declaration ..............................................................18
The Remedial Nature o the Declaration ......................19
The Call or A frmative Measures to SecureSel -determination and Related Rights ........................ 20
The United Nations Declaration on
the Rights o Indigenous Peoples ............ 23
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What is the United NationsDeclaration on the Rightsof Indigenous Peoples?
The Adoption o the Declaration bythe United Nations
On September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assemblyadopted the Declaration on the Rights o Indigenous Peoples,
a rming that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples
and have the right to sel -determination, along with an array o
related rights, including rights to traditional lands and territories.
The United Nations is the worlds major international
organization. It is made up o 193 Member States, including
the United States, and all o the other countries o the globe
that are widely recognized as independent states, with little
exception. All o the Member States are represented in the
General Assembly, and the overwhelming majority o them
143 voted in avor o the Declaration. Only our the United
States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand voted against
it, while eleven abstained. (Several UN Member States were
not present at the vote.)
Notably, the our countries that initially opposed the Declaration
have all reversed their positions. Australia announced its
support or the Declaration in April 2009, New Zealand in April
2010, and Canada in November 2010. Finally, on December
16, 2010, the United States endorsed the Declaration.
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The United States Endorsement othe DeclarationA ter President Obama took o ce in 2009, his administration
conducted a review o the Declaration and the United States
position on it. Following a consultation with indigenous leaders,
the Obama administration concluded that the United States
should reverse its opposition to the Declaration. According to
the Department o States announcement, the United Statesnow supports the Declaration because the Declaration
refects the U.S. commitment to work with [indigenous ]
tribes, individuals, and communities to address the
many challenges they ace. The United States aspires
to improve relations with indigenous peoples by
looking to the principles embodied in the Declaration
in its dealings with ederally recognized tribes, while
also working, as appropriate, with all indigenous
individuals and communities in the United States.
Moreover, the United States is committed to serving as
a model in the international community in promoting
and protecting the collective rights o indigenous
peoples as well as the human rights o all individuals.
With this statement o support, the United States committed
itsel to being guided by the rights and principles a rmed in
the Declaration. This commitment bears on all governmental
actors both at the ederal and state levels.
Indigenous Peoples in theUnited StatesThe vast territory that is now the United States is home to
numerous indigenous peoples that have their own manners
o sel -identi cation. In the United States, indigenous peoples
are o ten collectively categorized by terms like American
Indians, Native Americans, Tribes, First or Indian Nations, Alaska
Natives, and Native or Indigenous Hawaiians. In principle, theindigenous peoples re erred to in the Declaration include all
culturally distinct communities or peoples with ancestral roots
in the country that predate European arrival, even i they are
not ormally recognized by ederal or state governments.
The Origins o the DeclarationThe United Nations was ounded in 1945, in the a termath o
World War II, to encourage international peace, security and
goodwill among the peoples o the world, and to promote
and protect human rights.
As part o its multi aceted program to promote human rights,
the United Nations took a special interest in indigenous
peoples and in 1982 established the Working Group on
Indigenous Populations. In the years just a ter its ormation, the
Working Group began developing a text or a declaration on
indigenous peoples. The document was dra ted and debated
or over two decades, rst within the Working Group, then
within the UN Commission on Human Rights and its successor
the Human Rights Council, and lastly within the UN General
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Assembly where the nal version was adopted as the
Declaration on the Rights o Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous
peoples rom around the world participated in the numerous
discussions about the Declaration, in order to advocate or a
text that would adequately refect their interests and aspirations.
Is the Declaration on
the Rights of IndigenousPeoples Legally Binding?Unlike treaties, declarations o the UN General Assembly are
not themselves direct sources o law. There ore, it cannot be
expected that any international organization or tribunal, or
any domestic court, will treat the Declaration on the Rights
o Indigenous Peoples as legally binding or make a legally
binding decision based solely upon the Declaration. However,
the Declaration is still a human rights instrument o signi cant
moral authority and political weight, and it unctions as an
important benchmark by which to evaluate the treatment
o indigenous peoples and promote needed re orms. Further,
being an expression o commitment by the UN and its Member
States to the standards it embodies, the Declaration does
have important legal implications.
The UN General Assembly has a long history o adopting
declarations on various human rights issues, including the
UNs rst international human rights instrument, the Universal
Declaration o Human Rights, which was adopted in 1948.
These human rights declarations are adopted under the
authority o the General Assembly, provided by the UN Charter,
to make recommendations or the purpose o assisting with
the realization o human rights and undamental reedoms or
all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Although being a recommendation in a technical sense, the
Declaration on the Rights o Indigenous Peoples has legal
signi cance in the ollowing ways:
Supported by an overwhelming majority o UN Member
States, as well as by indigenous peoples worldwide,
the Declaration refects a global consensus about the
content o the human rights o indigenous peoples.
This consensus in orms the general obligation that
governments have to protect human rights under the
United Nations Charter, a binding international treaty
o the highest order.
Some aspects o the Declaration may constitute
binding norms o customary international law, to theextent they refect patterns o consistent international
and government practice; or they may refect general
principles o international law.
The Declaration can be used to guide courts in their
interpretation o domestic laws relevant to the rights
o indigenous peoples, and those interpretations can
produce binding and en orceable legal decisions.
The Declaration relates to and elaborates upon the
human rights standards ound in various international
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treaties, several o which have been rati ed and are
legally binding on the United States. International
human rights treaties rati ed by the United States
with rights related to indigenous peoples include the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) and the International Convention on the Elimi-
nation o All Forms o Racial Discrimination (CERD).
The United Nations institutions that interpret and apply
these treaties institutions known as treaty-monitor-
ing bodies now routinely apply the provisions o
these treaties in ways that refect the standards articu-
lated in the Declaration and sometimes explicitly re er
to the Declaration in doing so. (Each o these human
rights treaties may be ound at: http://www2.ohchr.
org/english/law )
Using the DeclarationThe Declaration on the Rights o Indigenous Peoples, to put
it simply, represents a political and moral commitment made
by the United States to the standards o indigenous rights
embodied in this instrument, a commitment that is linked
to the United States obligation internationally to promote
and respect human rights. By announcing its support or the
Declaration, the United States is saying that it essentially agrees
to these minimum human rights standards and that it will work
to uphold them. There are various ways in which indigenous
peoples and their advocates can work to hold the United
States to this commitment and to realize the rights recognized
in the Declaration.
Using the Declaration within theUnited States and at HomeIndigenous peoples and their advocates can promote respect
or the rights that are a rmed in the Declaration on the Rights
o Indigenous Peoples through:
Training indigenous leaders and community members
on the Declaration and its signi cance;
Using the Declaration in e orts to lobby Congress or
state legislatures, and in dealings with local, state, and
ederal agencies;
Citing the Declaration in judicial proceedings and
urging ederal, state, and indigenous courts to interpret
laws and policies consistently with the Declaration;
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Incorporating the Declaration directly into indigenous
(tribal) law, policies and resolutions; and
Publishing in ormation on the Declaration in indigenous
languages.
Using the DeclarationInternationallyThe Declaration can also be used in international proceedings
to bring attention to the situations o indigenous peoples in the
United States. In instances where indigenous peoples human
rights are not being adequately ul lled or respected by state
or ederal authorities, and attempts to resolve the situation
through domestic proceedings have not been success ul,
it may be appropriate to seek the help o an international
human rights body.
A number o international bodies monitor human rights
conditions through various mechanisms. While none o these
institutions has the power to orce the United States to comply
with its human rights commitments, they can bring attention to
situations and put pressure on ederal or state governments to
change or re orm their conduct, laws, or policies. International
human rights bodies have di erent requirements or receiving
in ormation and employ di erent tools or responding to human
rights problems. Be ore embarking on an e ort to use any o
these mechanisms, indigenous peoples and their advocates
should care ully research their speci c characteristics, in order
to ensure that necessary requirements or submission o in orma
-tion are satis ed and to develop an e ective, uni ed strategy.
The ollowing list identi es several human rights monitoring
bodies and mechanisms relevant to the indigenous peoples in
the United States.
United Nations
Human Rights Council: Universal Periodic Review
http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/upr/pages/uprmain.aspx
Human Rights Council: Mandate o the Special Rapporteur onthe rights o indigenous peoples
http://unsr.jamesanaya.org or
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/
SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx
Human Rights Committee:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/
Committee on the Elimination o Racial Discrimination:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/index.htm
See Generally:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/petitions/index.htm
Organization o American States
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:
https://www.cidh.oas.org/cidh_apps/instructions.asp?gc_
language=E
Rapporteurship on the Rights o Indigenous Peoples:
http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/indigenous/de ault.asp
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The Content of theDeclaration*The Declaration on the Rights o Indigenous Peoples has 46
articles, preceded by a preamble with 24 paragraphs, all
anchored in the complementary human rights o equality
and sel -determination. On this grounding, the Declaration
a rms the collective rights o indigenous peoples in relation
to culture, development, education, social services, and
traditional territories; and it mandates respect or historical
treaties and modern compacts with indigenous peoples.
Furthermore, the Declaration calls or a rmative measures
by the governments o countries and the United Nations as a
whole to secure these rights.
The Human Rights Foundations othe Declaration
While the Declaration speci cally applies to indigenouspeoples, its provisions are derived rom human rights principles
that are o universal application. These include, especially,
principles o equality and sel -determination as already noted.
Other universal human rights also are oundational, including
the right to enjoy culture, the right to health, the right to li e,
and the right to property, all o which have been a rmed in
various human rights instruments as applicable to all segments
o humanity. Such universal human rights are incorporated
into the important human rights treaties, mentioned above, to
which the United States is a party.
The Declaration builds upon these rights in the context o
the particular historical, cultural, social, and economic
circumstances that are characteristic o indigenous peoples.
By doing so, the Declaration places particular emphasis on
bonds o community and the collective dimension o the
exercise o these rights, and hence it a rms the collectiverights o indigenous peoples upon a oundation o human
rights, and not just the individual rights o indigenous persons.
The Remedial Nature o theDeclarationThe Declaration owes it existence to concern about the
histories o colonization and deprivation o basic human
rights su ered by indigenous peoples and about the ongoing
disadvantages and impediments to sel -determination
they ace. The Declaration explicitly re ers to this history inits preamble, while throughout its text signi ying the need to
remedy the denial o sel -determination and related human
rights. The various articles o the Declaration elaborate upon
the elements o sel -determination or indigenous peoples in
light o their common characteristics and mark the parameters
or measures to implement a uture in which sel -determination
or them is secure. The Declaration thus promotes change that
begins with recognition o rights o indigenous survival that are
inherent, such recognition being a matter o urgent need.
* This section is adapted with permission rom a keynote address by Pro essorJames Anaya to the 52 nd Congress o Americanists, Seville, Spain, June 2006.
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The Call or A frmative Measuresto Secure Sel -determination andRelated RightsWith its remedial thrust, the Declaration generally mandates
that States, in consultation and cooperation with indigenous
peoples, shall take the appropriate measures, including
legislative measures, to achieve the ends o this Declaration
(Article 38), and it urther requires special measures inconnection with most o the rights a rmed. Such special
measures are to be taken with the end o building healthy
relationships between indigenous peoples and the larger
societies o the countries in which they live. In this regard,
treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements
with indigenous peoples are valued as use ul tools, and the
rights a rmed in such instruments are to be sa eguarded
(Article 37).
Among the special measures required are those to secure
autonomy or sel -government or indigenous peoples over
their internal and local a airs in accordance with their
own political institutions and cultural patterns (Articles 4, 5),
as well as measures to ensure indigenous peoples right to
participate ully, i they so choose, in the political, economic,
social and cultural li e o the State and to have a say in all
decisions a ecting them (Articles 5, 18, 19).
Signi cantly, special measures are required to sa eguard
the right o indigenous peoples to the lands, territories and
resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or
otherwise used or acquired (Article 26). Since indigenous
peoples have been deprived o vast tracts o their traditional
lands and territories, the Declaration requires redress, by
means that can include restitution or, when this i s not possible,
just, air and equitable compensation, or the taking o the
lands (Article 28).
Special measures are also required to restore and secure
indigenous peoples rights in relation to culture, religion,traditional knowledge, the environment, physical security,
health, education, the wel are o women and children,
the media, and maintaining traditional relations across
international borders.
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United NationsDeclarationon the Rightsof IndigenousPeoplesThe ollowing is the ull text o theDeclaration, as adopted by the UNGeneral Assembly by its Resolution61/295 o 13 September 2007
The General Assembly,
Guided by the purposes and principles o the Charter o
the United Nations, and good aith in the ul lment o the
obligations assumed by States in accordance with the Charter,
A frming that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples,
while recognizing the right o all peoples to be di erent, to
consider themselves di erent, and to be respected as such,
A frming also that all peoples contribute to the diversity and
richness o civilizations and cultures, which constitute the
common heritage o humankind,
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A frming urther that all doctrines, policies and practices
based on or advocating superiority o peoples or individuals on
the basis o national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural
di erences are racist, scienti cally alse, legally invalid, morally
condemnable and socially unjust,
Rea frming that indigenous peoples, in the exercise o their
rights, should be ree rom discrimination o any k ind,
Concerned that indigenous peoples have su ered rom
historic injustices as a result o , inter alia, their colonization
and dispossession o their lands, territories and resources, thus
preventing them rom exercising, in particular, their right to
development in accordance with their own needs and interests,
Recognizing the urgent need to respect and promote the
inherent rights o indigenous peoples which derive rom their
political, economic and social structures and rom their cultures,
spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, especially their
rights to their lands, territories and resources,
Recognizing also the urgent need to respect and promote the
rights o indigenous peoples a rmed in treaties, agreements
and other constructive arrangements with States,
Welcoming the act that indigenous peoples are organizing
themselves or political, economic, social and cultural
enhancement and in order to bring to an end all orms o
discrimination and oppression wherever they occur,
Convinced that control by indigenous peoples over
developments a ecting them and their lands, territories and
resources will enable them to maintain and strengthen their
institutions, cultures and traditions, and to promote their
development in accordance with their aspirations and needs,
Recognizing that respect or indigenous knowledge, cultures
and traditional practices contributes to sustainable and
equitable development and proper management o theenvironment,
Emphasizing the contribution o the demilitarization o the lands
and territories o indigenous peoples to peace, economic and
social progress and development, understanding and riendly
relations among nations and peoples o the world,
Recognizing in particular the right o indigenous amilies and
communities to retain shared responsibility or the upbringing,
training, education and well-being o their children, consistent
with the rights o the child,
Considering that the rights a rmed in treaties, agreements
and other constructive arrangements between States
and indigenous peoples are, in some situations, matters o
international concern, interest, responsibility and character,
Considering also that treaties, agreements and other con-
structive arrangements, and the relationship they repre-
sent, are the basis or a strengthened partnership between
indigenous peoples and States,
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Acknowledging that the Charter o the United Nations, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights 2 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, 2 as well as the Vienna Declaration and Programme
o Action, 3 a rm the undamental importance o the right
to sel -determination o all peoples, by virtue o which they
reely determine their political status and reely pursue their
economic, social and cultural development,
Bearing in mind that nothing in this Declaration may be used to
deny any peoples their right to sel -determination, exercised in
con ormity with international law,
Convinced that the recognition o the rights o indigenous
peoples in this Declaration will enhance harmonious and
cooperative relations between the State and indigenous
peoples, based on principles o justice, democracy, respect
or human rights, non-discrimination and good aith,
Encouraging States to comply with and e ectively implementall their obligations as they apply to indigenous peoples under
international instruments, in particular those related to human
rights, in consultation and cooperation with the peoples
concerned,
Emphasizing that the United Nations has an important and
continuing role to play in promoting and protecting the rights
o indigenous peoples,
Believing that this Declaration is a urther important step orward
or the recognition, promotion and protection o the rights andreedoms o indigenous peoples and in the development o
relevant activities o the United Nations system in this eld,
Recognizing and rea rming that indigenous individuals are
entitled without discrimination to all human rights recognized
in international law, and that indigenous peoples possess
collective rights which are indispensable or their existence,
well-being and integral development as peoples,
Recognizing that the situation o indigenous peoples varies
rom region to region and rom country to country and that
the signi cance o national and regional particularities and
various historical and cultural backgrounds should be taken
into consideration,
Solemnly proclaims the ollowing United Nations Declaration on
the Rights o Indigenous Peoples as a standard o achievement
to be pursued in a spirit o partnership and mutual respect:
ARTICLE 1
Indigenous peoples have the right to the ull enjoyment, as acollective or as individuals, o all human rights and undamental
reedoms as recognized in the Charter o the United Nations,
the Universal Declaration o Human Rights 4 and international
human rights law.
ARTICLE 2Indigenous peoples and individuals are ree and equal to all
other peoples and individuals and have the right to be ree
rom any kind o discrimination, in the exercise o their rights,
in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.
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ARTICLE 3Indigenous peoples have the right to sel -determination.
By virtue o that right they reely determine their political
status and reely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.
ARTICLE 4Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to sel -determina-
tion, have the right to autonomy or sel -government in matters
relating to their internal and local a airs, as well as ways and
means or nancing their autonomous unctions.
ARTICLE 5Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen
their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural
institutions, while retaining their right to participate ully, i they
so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural li e o
the State.
ARTICLE 6Every indigenous individual has the right to a nationality.
ARTICLE 71. Indigenous individuals have the rights to li e, physical and
mental integrity, liberty and security o person.
2. Indigenous peoples have the collective right to live in
reedom, peace and security as distinct peoples and shall
not be subjected to any act o genocide or any other act o
violence, including orcibly removing children o the group to
another group.
ARTICLE 81. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be
subjected to orced assimilation or destruction o their culture.
2. States shall provide e ective mechanisms or prevention o ,and redress or:
(a) Any action which has the aim or e ect o depriving
them o their integrity as distinct peoples, or o their
cultural values or ethnic identities;
(b) Any action which has the aim or e ect o dispossessing
them o their lands, territories or resources;
(c) Any orm o orced population trans er which has
the aim or e ect o violating or undermining any o their
rights;
(d) Any orm o orced assimilation or integration;
(e) Any orm o propaganda designed to promote or
incite racial or ethnic discrimination directed against
them.
ARTICLE 9Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to
an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the
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traditions and customs o the community or nation concerned.
No discrimination o any kind may arise rom the exercise o
such a right.
ARTICLE 10Indigenous peoples shall not be orcibly removed rom their
lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the
ree, prior and in ormed consent o the indigenous peoples
concerned and a ter agreement on just and air compensation
and, where possible, with the option o return.
ARTICLE 111. Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize
their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to
maintain, protect and develop the past, present and uture
mani estations o their cultures, such as archaeological and
historical sites, arte acts, designs, ceremonies, technologies
and visual and per orming arts and literature.
2. States shall provide redress through e ective mechanisms,
which may include restitution, developed in conjunction with
indigenous peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual,
religious and spiritual property taken without their ree, prior
and in ormed consent or in violation o their laws, traditions
and customs.
ARTICLE 121. Indigenous peoples have the right to mani est, practise,
develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions,
customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and
have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites; the
right to the use and control o their ceremonial objects; and
the right to the repatriation o their human remains.
2. States shall seek to enable the access and/or repatriation
o ceremonial objects and human remains in their possession
through air, transparent and e ective mechanisms developed
in conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned.
ARTICLE 131. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop
and transmit to uture generations their histories, languages,
oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures,
and to designate and retain their own names or communities,
places and persons.
2. States shall take e ective measures to ensure that this right
is protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples
can understand and be understood in political, legal and
administrative proceedings, where necessary through the
provision o interpretation or by other appropriate means.
ARTICLE 141. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control
their educational systems and institutions providing education
in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their
cultural methods o teaching and learning.
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2. Indigenous individuals, particularly children, have the right
to all levels and orms o education o the State without
discrimination.
3. States shall, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, take
e ective measures, in order or indigenous individuals,
particularly children, including those living outside their
communities, to have access, when possible, to an education
in their own culture and provided in their own language.
ARTICLE 151. Indigenous peoples have the right to the dignity and diver-
sity o their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which
shall be appropriately refected in education and public in or-
mation.
2. States shall take e ective measures, in consultation and
cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, to
combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to
promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among
indigenous peoples and all other segments o society.
ARTICLE 161. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own
media in their own languages and to have access to all orms
o non-indigenous media without discrimination.
2. States shall take e ective measures to ensure that State-
owned media duly refect indigenous cultural diversity. States,
without prejudice to ensuring ull reedom o expression, should
encourage privately owned media to adequately refect
indigenous cultural diversity.
ARTICLE 171. Indigenous individuals and peoples have the right to enjoy
ully all rights established under applicable international and
domestic labour law.
2. States shall in consultation and cooperation with indigenouspeoples take speci c measures to protect indigenous children
rom economic exploitation and rom per orming any work
that is likely to be hazardous or to inter ere with the childs
education, or to be harm ul to the childs health or physical,
mental, spiritual, moral or social development, taking into
account their special vulnerability and the importance o
education or their empowerment.
3. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected
to any discriminatory conditions o labour and, inter alia,
employment or salary.
ARTICLE 18Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-
making in matters which would a ect their rights, through
representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with
their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their
own indigenous decision-making institutions.
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ARTICLE 19States shall consult and cooperate in good aith with
the indigenous peoples concerned through their own
representative institutions in order to obtain their ree, prior
and in ormed consent be ore adopting and implementing
legislative or administrative measures that may a ect them.
ARTICLE 201. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop
their political, economic and social systems or institutions, to be
secure in the enjoyment o their own means o subsistence and
development, and to engage reely in all their traditional and
other economic activities.
2. Indigenous peoples deprived o their means o subsistence
and development are entitled to just and air redress.
ARTICLE 211. Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination,to the improvement o their economic and social conditions,
including, inter alia, in the areas o education, employment,
vocational training and retraining, housing, sanitation, health
and social security.
2. States shall take e ective measures and, where appropriate,
special measures to ensure continuing improvement o their
economic and social conditions. Particular attention shall
be paid to the rights and special needs o indigenous elders,
women, youth, children and persons with disabilities.
ARTICLE 221. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special
needs o indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons
with disabilities in the implementation o this Declaration.
2. States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous
peoples, to ensure that indigenous women and children enjoy
the ull protection and guarantees against all orms o violence
and discrimination.
ARTICLE 23Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop
priorities and strategies or exercising their right to development.
In particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively
involved in developing and determining health, housing and
other economic and social programmes a ecting them and,
as ar as possible, to administer such programmes through their
own institutions.
ARTICLE 241. Indigenous peoples have the right to their traditional
medicines and to maintain their health practices, including
the conservation o their vital medicinal plants, animals and
minerals. Indigenous individuals also have the right to access,
without any discrimination, to all social and health services.
2. Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment
o the highest attainable standard o physical and mental
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health. States shall take the necessary steps with a view to
achieving progressively the ull realization o this right.
ARTICLE 25Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen
their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally
owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories,
waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold
their responsibilities to uture generations in this regard.
ARTICLE 261. Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories
and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied
or otherwise used or acquired.
2. Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and
control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by
reason o traditional ownership or other traditional occupation
or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.
3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these
lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be
conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions and
land tenure systems o the indigenous peoples concerned.
ARTICLE 27States shall establish and implement, in conjunction with
indigenous peoples concerned, a air, independent, impartial,
open and transparent process, giving due recognition to
indigenous peoples laws, traditions, customs and land tenure
systems, to recognize and adjudicate the rights o indigenous
peoples pertaining to their lands, territories and resources,
including those which were traditionally owned or otherwise
occupied or used. Indigenous peoples shall have the right to
participate in this process.
ARTICLE 281. Indigenous peoples have the right to redress, by means
that can include restitution or, when this is not possible, just,
air and equitable compensation, or the lands, territories and
resources which they have traditionally owned or otherwise
occupied or used, and which have been con scated, taken,
occupied, used or damaged without their ree, prior and
in ormed consent.
2. Unless otherwise reely agreed upon by the peoples
concerned, compensation shall take the orm o lands,
territories and resources equal in quality, size and legal statusor o monetary compensation or other appropriate redress.
ARTICLE 291. Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and
protection o the environment and the productive capacity o
their lands or territories and resources. States shall establish and
implement assistance programmes or indigenous peoples or
such conservation and protection, without discrimination.
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2. States shall take e ective measures to ensure that no storage
or disposal o hazardous materials shall take place in the lands
or territories o indigenous peoples without their ree, prior and
in ormed consent.
3. States shall also take e ective measures to ensure, as
needed, that programmes or monitoring, maintaining and
restoring the health o indigenous peoples, as developed and
implemented by the peoples a ected by such materials, areduly implemented.
ARTICLE 301. Military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories
o indigenous peoples, unless justi ed by a relevant public
interest or otherwise reely agreed with or requested by the
indigenous peoples concerned.
2. States shall undertake e ective consultations with the indig-
enous peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures
and in particular through their representative institutions, prior
to using their lands or territories or military activities.
ARTICLE 311. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect
and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and
traditional cultural expressions, as well as the mani estations
o their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human
and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge o the
properties o auna and fora, oral traditions, literatures, designs,
sports and traditional games and visual and per orming arts.
They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and
develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage,
traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.
2. In conjunction with indigenous peoples, States shall take
e ective measures to recognize and protect the exercise o
these rights.
ARTICLE 321. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and
develop priorities and strategies or the development or use o
their lands or territories and other resources.
2. States shall consult and cooperate in good aith with
the indigenous peoples concerned through their own
representative institutions in order to obtain their ree and
in ormed consent prior to the approval o any project a ecting
their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in
connection with the development, utilization or exploitation o
mineral, water or other resources.
3. States shall provide e ective mechanisms or just and air
redress or any such activities, and appropriate measures
shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic,
social, cultural or spiritual impact.
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ARTICLE 331. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own
identity or membership in accordance with their customs and
traditions. This does not impair the right o indigenous individuals
to obtain citizenship o the States in which they live.
2. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the
structures and to select the membership o their institutions in
accordance with their own procedures.
ARTICLE 34Indigenous peoples have the right to promote, develop
and maintain their institutional structures and their distinctive
customs, spirituality, traditions, procedures, practices and,
in the cases where they exist, juridical systems or customs, in
accordance with international human rights standards.
ARTICLE 35Indigenous peoples have the right to determine theresponsibilities o individuals to their communities.
ARTICLE 361. Indigenous peoples, in particular those divided by
international borders, have the right to maintain and develop
contacts, relations and cooperation, including activities or
spiritual, cultural, political, economic and social purposes, with
their own members as well as other peoples across borders.
2. States, in consultation and cooperation with indigenous
peoples, shall take e ective measures to acilitate the exercise
and ensure the implementation o this right.
ARTICLE 371. Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition,
observance and en orcement o treaties, agreements and
other constructive arrangements concluded with States or
their successors and to have States honour and respect such
treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.
2. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as diminishing
or eliminating the rights o indigenous peoples contained in
treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.
ARTICLE 38States in consultation and cooperation with indigenous
peoples, shall take the appropriate measures, including
legislative measures, to achieve the ends o this Declaration.
ARTICLE 39Indigenous peoples have the right to have access to
nancial and technical assistance rom States and through
international cooperation, or the enjoyment o the rights
contained in this Declaration.
ARTICLE 40Indigenous peoples have the right to access to and prompt
decision through just and air procedures or the resolution o
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conficts and disputes with States or other parties, as well as to
e ective remedies or all in ringements o their individual and
collective rights. Such a decision shall give due consideration to
the customs, traditions, rules and legal systems o the indigenous
peoples concerned and international human rights.
ARTICLE 41The organs and specialized agencies o the United Nations
system and other intergovernmental organizations shall
contribute to the ull realization o the provisions o this
Declaration through the mobilization, inter alia, o nancial
cooperation and technical assistance. Ways and means
o ensuring participation o indigenous peoples on issues
a ecting them shall be established.
ARTICLE 42The United Nations, its bodies, including the Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues, and specialized agencies, including at
the country level, and States shall promote respect or and ull
application o the provisions o this Declaration and ollow up
the e ectiveness o this Declaration.
ARTICLE 43The rights recognized herein constitute the minimum standards
or the survival, dignity and well-being o the indigenous
peoples o the world.
ARTICLE 44All the rights and reedoms recognized herein are equally
guaranteed to male and emale indigenous individuals.
ARTICLE 45Nothing in this Declaration may be construed as diminishing or
extinguishing the rights indigenous peoples have now or may
acquire in the uture.
ARTICLE 461. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying
or any State, people, group or person any right to engage in
any activity or to per orm any act contrary to the Charter o
the United Nations or construed as authorizing or encouraging
any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in
part, the territorial integrity or political unity o sovereign and
independent States.
2. In the exercise o the rights enunciated in the presentDeclaration, human rights and undamental reedoms o all
shall be respected. The exercise o the rights set orth in this
Declaration shall be subject only to such limitations as are
determined by law and in accordance with international
human rights obligations. Any such limitations shall be non-
discriminatory and strictly necessary solely or the purpose
o securing due recognition and respect or the rights
and reedoms o others and or meeting the just and most
compelling requirements o a democratic society.
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3. The provisions set orth in this Declaration shall be interpreted
in accordance with the principles o justice, democracy,
respect or human rights, equality, non-discrimination, good
governance and good aith.
2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.3 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.4 Resolution 217 A (III).
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