04/09/2026
High Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.
Round Table 1: UN System Action for the Implementation of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Statement by Albert DeTERVILLE, Chair-Rapporteur of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
New York, 22 September 2014
Excellencies, Indigenous Peoples’ Representatives and Distinguished co-chairs;
I am honoured to represent the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at this Round Table 1: UN System action for Implementing the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and thank the President of the General Assembly for this invitation. Please receive a warm greeting on behalf of the five members of the Expert Mechanism.
I refer to the Draft Resolution submitted by the President of the General Assembly: Outcome document of the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples; A/69/L.1; par. 28
‘We invite the Human Rights Council, taking into account the views of Indigenous Peoples, to review the mandates of its existing mechanisms, in particular the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, during the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, with a view to modifying and improving the Expert Mechanism so that it can more effectively promote respect for the Declaration, including by better assisting Member States to monitor, evaluate and improve the achievement of the ends of the Declaration’.
In this regard, Article 42 of the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples states:
The United Nations, its bodies, including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and specialized agencies, including at the country level, and States shall promote respect for and full application of the provisions of this Declaration and follow-up the effectiveness of this Declaration.
In its Report to the 27th Session of the Human Rights Council, the Expert Mechanism noted:
In resolution 24/10 the Human Rights Council also asked the Expert Mechanism to continue to undertake a questionnaire* survey to seek the views of States and of Indigenous Peoples on best practices regarding possible appropriate measures and implementation strategies to attain the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The questionnaire sought responses from States and Indigenous Peoples on the following issues relating to Indigenous Peoples: self-determination and autonomy; participation in decision-making; culture and languages; non-discrimination and equality; lands, territories and resources; and treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements with States. The Expert Mechanism welcomed the responses of 25 States and of 19 Indigenous Peoples’ organizations to this questionnaire. The results continue to show that, even though the standards of the Declaration are often overlooked and targeted strategies for their implementation remain too rare, there are also many positive practices at the national level that must be supported and replicated.
I am pleased to report that the proposal for the Expert Mechanism to continue undertaking this survey and take this opportunity to inform you that we will be re-designing the questionnaire in order to make it more tailored and user-friendly. We would like to encourage States and Indigenous Peoples to respond to the questionnaire and for those who have already provided information, to update their responses as appropriate.
*‘Final summary of responses to a questionnaire seeking the views of States and Indigenous Peoples on best practices regarding possible appropriate measures and implementation strategies to attain the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A/HRC/EMRIP/2014/4
The Expert Mechanism is cognizant of a number of States having national strategy to implement the Declaration as implied in several policy documents; and development plans based on normative and institutional aspects, including already existing constitutional, legislative and regulatory norms; developed in consultation with Indigenous Peoples.
For example:
Constitutional Review of the (State of Saint Lucia);
Establishment of National Indigenous Peoples Committee in Trinidad & Tobago;
Regional Framework for the Protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions in response to Articles 64 and 66 of the Revised CARICOM Treaty.
The Expert Mechanism intends to, within its mandate to continually improving its strategies on calling for the full and effective implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, since many States have not been able to provide details on the scope and nature of their national implementation plans in their responses. Nor have they indicated how those laws and policies were developed, or whether they had been developed in consultation with Indigenous Peoples.
Challenges in adopting measures and implementing strategies to attain the goals of the Declaration.
One of the biggest challenges is the lack of awareness and knowledge of the of rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Declaration and other international instruments. This lack of knowledge is exacerbated by the lack of wider civil society engagement in the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
A main challenge is the cost of implementing those rights and the limited resources available to undertake this work. Funds would be necessary in order to implement different strategies to meet the objectives of the Declaration, in particular. The remoteness of Indigenous Peoples communities posed challenges to access to, and timely delivery of, goods and services, as well the prohibitive costs of delivering those goods and services.
Another challenge is the need for regional variances in the implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Moreover, each Indigenous People had its own history, culture, needs and perspectives.
Another challenge that is of concern to the Expert Mechanism is in relation to the monitoring and enforcement of laws, particularly mining and forestry laws, and that it is a challenge to prevent unethical foreign researchers and NGOs from misappropriating the intellectual property rights and traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples.
Best practices
UN System action for the implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples would need to respond to the particularities and historical and cultural backgrounds of the Indigenous Peoples concerned.
The Expert Mechanism maintains that where treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements already existed, those instruments could provide the foundation for partnership, mutual respect, cooperation and good faith between States and Indigenous Peoples.
The Expert Mechanism continue to encourage the use of a variety of constitutional, legislative and policy measures to implement the Declaration, including drafting new legislation, amending existing legislation, creating new programmes and initiatives, and increasing involvement in international Indigenous Peoples issues. This multipronged approach might include adopting a special law recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples, which had been developed with the effective participation of Indigenous Peoples based on the principle of free, prior and informed consent. It might also require legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples, including ratifying ILO Convention No. 169.
United Nations agencies can improve the situation of Indigenous Peoples substantially, especially if those agencies provided technical assistance that promotes capacity building for Indigenous Peoples to strengthen the institutions of Indigenous Peoples. There is also a recognized need to provide opportunities for Indigenous Peoples to participate as equal partners in the overall development process of their country.
Challenges in adopting measures and implementing strategies to attain UN System action for Implementation of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
UN System action for the implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples can assist States that have introduced comprehensive strategies or action plans for the full implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. These rights are interdependent and interrelated and as such, their implementation requires comprehensive approaches and actions.
Thank you very much.
