AG/RES. 1919 (XXXIII-O/03)

AMERICAN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 

(Resolution adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 10, 2003) 

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), AG/RES. 1780 (XXXI-O/01), and AG/RES. 1851 (XXXII-O/02); 

BEARING IN MIND the commitments undertaken by the Heads of State and Government in the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, when they supported an early and successful conclusion of negotiations on the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 

ACKNOWLEDGING the important contributions of the Specific Fund to Support the Preparation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the efficient work of the selection board in choosing representatives of indigenous peoples to receive financing from the Specific Fund; and 

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the report of the Chair of the Working Group on the Group's activities over the past year, which points out the substantial progress made, with ample participation by representatives of indigenous peoples, in the analysis of the Draft Declaration during the  meetings of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft Declaration, and, in particular, at the most recent special meeting, held from February 24 to 27, 2003, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States, pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1851 (XXXII-O/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, underscoring the importance of participation by indigenous peoples in the process of elaboration of the Draft Declaration.

2.         To commend the progress made by the Working Group, particularly at the special meeting of February 2003, at which the phase of analysis of the Draft Declaration presented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was completed. 

3.         To renew the mandate of the Working Group in order to begin the final phase of negotiations on the Draft Declaration, starting from the consolidated text of the Draft Declaration prepared by the Chair of the Working Group and considering the Draft Declaration presented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the proposals by member states, representatives of indigenous peoples, specialized agencies, and other entities. 

4.         To request the Permanent Council: 

a.                   To instruct the Working Group to begin, with a first round in October 2003, the final phase of negotiations and to set dates and modalities for the other meetings, as necessary, to achieve this objective; 

b.                   To instruct the Working Group to take appropriate measures to ensure continued transparency and effective participation by representatives of indigenous peoples during the negotiations that will take place exclusively among the member states; 

c.                   To convene at least one special meeting of the Working Group, by February 28, 2004, with ample participation by representatives of indigenous peoples, in order to review progress and assess the level of consensus on the Draft Declaration, and 

d.                   To decide, when appropriate, on the steps to be taken for adoption of the American Declaration, in the event that substantive progress is made in the negotiations phase. 

5.         To thank the member states, permanent observers, and institutions for their valuable contributions to the Specific Fund and to invite all states and institutions to continue providing support, by way of contributions, for the objectives of the Fund. 

6.         To invite the governments of the member states to conduct domestic consultations with their respective indigenous peoples on the Draft Declaration, and to promote information exchanges among countries regarding those consultations. 

7.         To request the Secretary General to enhance coordination, awareness, and promotion of activities on indigenous issues among the various pertinent 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. 

8.         To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples to continue to lend their valuable support for the process of  the elaboration of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and to thank them for their ongoing contributions to that process.  Likewise, to express appreciation to the Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Indigenous Peoples for his work. 

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

4.                   To request the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution, which shall be implemented within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources, and to present a report to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session on its implementation.