Turtle Talk

JURIST Guest Columnists S. James Anaya of the Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, and Siegfried Wiessner of St. Thomas University School of Law say that the UN General Assembly’s recent landslide adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a milestone in the re-empowerment of the world’s aboriginal groups, and that, in important parts, it reaffirms customary international law in the field …

The UN General Assembly’s adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007 marked the end of a long journey, a milestone in the long and arduous march of what have come to be known as “indigenous peoples” through the major institution of organized intergovernmental society: the United Nations. It was a day of celebration for indigenous leaders and their rank and file scattered around the globe, united in a common fate of conquest, dispossession, marginalization and neglect, but also in the joy of rising again.

When the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations was established in 1982, one of its key missions was the establishment of a declaration of rights of indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples from around the world trekked to the Palais des Nations in Geneva each summer afterwards to articulate their claims to the members of the Working Group and state delegations. In 1993, under the inspirational leadership of long-time Chairperson Mrs. Erica-Irene Daes, agreement was reached by the Working Group on a “Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” This draft became the basis for discussion within the UN Commission on Human Rights, which was replaced in 2006 by the Human Rights Council. In its first substantive decision, the Council on June 29, 2006, by a vote of 30 in favor, 2 against and 12 abstentions, adopted a revised text of the Declaration, and passed it on to the General Assembly for its final approval.