THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1022 (XIX-O/89), AG/RES. 1479 (XXVII-O/97),
AG/RES. 1549 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 1610 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1708 (XXX-O/00),
AG/RES. 1780 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1851 (XXXII-O/02), and AG/RES. 1919
(XXXIII-O/03);
BEARING IN MIND that, since resolution AG/RES.
1022 (XIX-O/89) of 1989, the General Assembly has requested the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights “to prepare a juridical instrument relative to the
rights of the Indian peoples” and that, through resolution AG/RES. 1610
(XXIX-O/99), the General Assembly established a Working Group of the Permanent
Council to consider the “Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples” presented by the IACHR (CP/doc.2878/97 corr.1);
CONSIDERING 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, and renewed in the
Declaration of Nuevo León, at the Special Summit of the Americas, in Monterrey,
Nuevo León, Mexico, in January 2004, 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
received by 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 the indigenous peoples to receive
financing from the Specific Fund;
NOTING WITH SATISFACTION the holding of three
meetings of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the final phase of negotiations in pursuit of
points of consensus among representatives of the member states and
representatives of the indigenous peoples, in keeping with the mandate issued
in operative paragraph 4, subparagraphs (a), (b), and (d), of resolution
AG/RES. 1919 (XXXIII-O/03); and
HAVING SEEN the report of the Chair of the
Working Group on activities carried out over the past year, which pointed out,
in particular, the progress made at the three meetings held in the final phase
of negotiations in the quest for points of consensus in Washington D.C., in
November 2003 and in January and April 2004,
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 effective
participation by the indigenous peoples in the process of preparing the Draft
Declaration.
2.
To commend the final phase of
negotiations initiated by the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in which negotiation meetings
were arranged in pursuit of a consensus and an early and successful conclusion
of the Draft Declaration.
3.
To renew the mandate of the
Working Group so that it may continue 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 (GT/DADIN/doc.139/03) and
considering the Draft Declaration presented by the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (CP/doc.2878/97 corr. 1) and the proposals by member states,
representatives of indigenous peoples, specialized agencies of the
inter-American system, and other entities.
4.
To request the Permanent
Council to instruct the Working Group:
a. In the framework of the
next meeting of negotiations, to recommend a date for conclusion of the final
phase of negotiations for the adoption of the Draft American Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with participation by one indigenous
representative from each member state of the Organization, designated by the
respective indigenous peoples. The Permanent Council will be informed of the
said decision through the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs.
b. When the Permanent
Council has been informed of the said date, to continue to strengthen the
methodology for the process and to establish the dates and procedures for the
meetings needed to reach the aforementioned objective, taking into account the
participation of the indigenous peoples./
c. To take the appropriate
measures to ensure continuing transparency of and effective participation by
representatives of indigenous peoples in the meetings for negotiation in
pursuit of points of consensus;
d. To convene, when
appropriate, a special meeting of the Working Group, with broad and effective
participation by representatives of indigenous peoples, which should examine
the status of the process and assess the level of consensus reached on the
Draft Declaration; and
e. To determine, when
appropriate, the steps to be taken for final adoption of the Draft American
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, should substantial progress be
achieved in the negotiations phase.
5.
To thank the member states,
permanent observers, and institutions for their valuable contributions to the
Specific Fund to Support the Preparation of the American Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to invite them to continue supporting the
objectives of the Fund with their contributions.
6.
To invite the governments of
the member states to continue to conduct domestic consultations with their
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 organs, agencies, and entities 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,
and the General Secretariat 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 contributions
to that process.
9.
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, including
activities undertaken in the context of the Summits of the Americas process.
10.
To request the Permanent
Council to follow up on this resolution, which will be implemented within the
resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other
resources, and to present a report on its implementation to the General
Assembly at its thirty-fifth regular session.