AG/RES. 1851 (XXXII-O/02)

AMERICAN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

 

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June 4, 2002) 

 

            THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

 

RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1022 (XIX-O/89), AG/RES. 1479 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1549 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1708 (XXX-O/00), and AG/RES. 1780 (XXXI-O/01); 

BEARING IN MIND that the heads of state and government of the Hemisphere, in the Declaration of Quebec City, supported efforts towards early and successful conclusion of negotiations on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (hereinafter the “Draft Declaration”) and, in the Plan of Action of Quebec, agreed to advance negotiations within the OAS on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with a view toward its earliest possible conclusion and adoption; 

CONSIDERING the commitments assumed in this area by the Presidents of the Andean Community member countries in the Machu Picchu Declaration on Democracy, the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the War against Poverty;

 

REAFFIRMING the importance and priority attached to the indigenous issue and the discussions on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples under way at the Organization;

 

RECOGNIZING the progress made on indigenous matters in the inter-American system, including those of various states that have incorporated the multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual nature of their societies into their constitutional and legislative systems;

 

CONVINCED of the need to continue supporting efforts to reach a prompt and successful conclusion to negotiations on the aforementioned Draft Declaration;

 

RECOGNIZING that participation by representatives of indigenous peoples and their valuable contributions on the topics addressed in the Draft Declaration are important to this process;

 

NOTING the appointment ad honorem of a special adviser to the Secretary General to support the efforts of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and

 

HAVING SEEN the report of the Chair of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (GT/DADIN/doc.XX/02),

 

RESOLVES: 

1.                   To reaffirm as a priority of the Organization of American States the adoption of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, emphasizing the importance of participation by indigenous peoples in the process of elaborating the Draft Declaration. 

2.                   To commend the progress made at the special meeting of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, held at OAS headquarters from March 11 to 15, 2002, in that it strengthened the process of open and transparent dialogue among the OAS member states and representatives of indigenous peoples. 

3.                   To renew the mandate of the Working Group to continue its consideration of the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  

4.                   To recognize the importance of establishment, by the Permanent Council, of the Specific Fund to Support the Elaboration of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with ample indigenous representation, and having as its main objective that of facilitating participation by representatives of indigenous peoples in the process of elaborating the Draft Declaration. 

5.                   To instruct the Permanent Council: 

a.                   To adopt measures to strengthen the process of ongoing dialogue with representatives of indigenous peoples to achieve prompt and successful conclusion of negotiations on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 

b.                   To convene at least one special meeting of the Working Group, to be held no later than March 31, 2003, for continued consideration of the Draft Declaration, with participation by representatives of indigenous peoples; 

c.                   To hold other meetings of the Working Group on specific topics relating to the Draft Declaration, in which experts and representatives of indigenous peoples will participate, and which will promote better understanding of essential aspects of the Draft Declaration; 

d.                   To promote exchanges of information among member states on processes of national consultation with indigenous peoples; and 

e.                   To promote integration, and coordination of activities relating to indigenous issues within the Organization. 

6.                   To encourage governments to consider:  

a.                   Establishing mechanisms for national consultation with representatives of indigenous peoples, to facilitate the process of elaborating the Draft Declaration; 

b.                   Developing and strengthening their ties with indigenous peoples in decision-making on matters that concern them; and 

c.                   Contributing to the Specific Fund to Support the Elaboration of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

7.                   To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to strengthen the role of the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples in preparing the Draft Declaration, in accordance with resources available in the program-budget and other resources; and to recognize the support the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been lending to this process. 

8.                   To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Inter-American Indian Institute, and other international organizations and institutions to lend the necessary support and advisory services to the Working Group in its efforts. 

9.                   To instruct the Secretary General to enhance coordination, awareness, and promotion relating to activities on indigenous issues among the various bodies and dependencies of the Organization and to promote the exchange of information and coordination with multilateral organizations, development banks, and specialized multilateral agencies of the Hemisphere on these activities. 

10.               To invite the multilateral organizations, development banks, and specialized multilateral agencies of the Hemisphere to contribute, in their areas of competence, to establishing a process of dialogue and consultation with indigenous peoples and to facilitate the exchange of information and coordination with other bodies of the inter-American system on activities relating to indigenous peoples. 

11.               To request the Permanent Council to present a report to the General Assembly at its thirty-second regular session on the implementation of this resolution.