Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

"[3] It "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them, and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development".

[3][4] The goal of the declaration is to encourage countries to work alongside indigenous peoples to solve global issues, such as development, multicultural, democracy, and decentralization[3].

According to a UN press release it does "represent the dynamic development of international legal norms and it reflects the commitment of the UN's member states to move in certain directions"; the UN describes it as setting "an important standard for the treatment of indigenous peoples that will undoubtedly be a significant tool toward eliminating human rights violations against the planet's 370 million indigenous people, and assisting them in combating discrimination and marginalization."

"[9] Ken Coates, a Canada Research Chair and faculty member at the University of Saskatchewan, argues that UNDRIP resonates powerfully with indigenous peoples, while national governments have not yet fully understood its impact.

Their goal was to create an overarching document that would help protect the rights and privileges of indigenous peoples throughout the world.

Article 40 states that indigenous peoples have the right to fair procedures for the resolution of conflicts and disputes with countries or other parties.

Most articles include an aspiration for how the State should promote and protect the rights of indigenous people (see Provision for further explanation).

The draft declaration was then referred to the Commission on Human Rights, which established another working group to examine its terms.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described it as a "historic moment when UN Member States and indigenous peoples have reconciled with their painful histories and are resolved to move forward together on the path of human rights, justice and development for all."

"[4] Similarly, news of the declaration's adoption was greeted with jubilation in Africa[32] and, present at the General Assembly session in New York, Bolivian foreign minister David Choquehuanca said that he hoped the member states that had voted against or abstained would reconsider their refusal to support a document he described as being as important as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, stated, "We are the first country to turn this declaration into a law and that is important, brothers and sisters.

Years which have seen many tribal peoples, such as the Akuntsu and Kanoê in Brazil, decimated and others, such as the Innu in Canada, brought to the edge.

[36] Prior to the adoption of the declaration, and throughout the 62nd session of the General Assembly, a number of countries expressed concern about some key issues, such as self-determination, access to lands, territories and resources and the lack of a clear definition of the term "indigenous".

[38] Ultimately, after agreeing on some adjustments to the draft declaration, a vast majority of states recognized that these issues could be addressed by each country at the national level.

[citation needed] The four states that voted against continued to express serious reservations about the final text of the declaration as placed before the General Assembly.

[43] Former Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Chuck Strahl, described the document as "unworkable in a Western democracy under a constitutional government.

You need also to consider the people who have sometimes also lived on those lands for two or three hundred years, and have hunted and fished alongside the First Nations.

"[45] The Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution in December 2007 to invite Presidents Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales to Canada to put pressure on the government to sign the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, calling the two heads of state "visionary leaders" and demanding Canada resign its membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council.

A growing number of states have given qualified recognition to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

[49] On July 7, 2015, in an open letter to provincial cabinet members, Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley asked each minister to conduct a review of their policies, programs, and legislation that might require changes based on the principles of the UN declaration.

[50] In December 2015, the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission listed ratifying UNDRIP as one of its national "calls to action" in its final report.

"[51] Bennett described the declaration as "breathing life into Section 35 [of the Canadian Constitution] and recognizing it as a full box of rights for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

[57] The legislation was originally put forth by Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Scott Fraser (politician), under John Horgan's New Democratic Party government.

[59] As of November 2019, the BC government has committed to putting almost CA$100 million per year aside for First Nation communities, in order for them to invest in their own self-governance and cultural revitalization;[19] the province has also dedicated CA$50 million to invest in First Nations communities language revitalization.

Additionally, they have implemented Grand Chief Edward John's recommendations to decrease the number of indigenous children taken from homes and put in care.

[19] On December 3, 2020, Bill C-15, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, was introduced to the House of Commons by the Minister of Justice David Lametti that would bring Canadian law into alignment with the UN resolution.

In doing so Canada became the first of the four countries with histories as settler colonies of the British empire with majority non-indigenous populations that originally voted against to now adopt UNDRIP.

Article 26 in particular, he said, "appears to require recognition of rights to lands now lawfully owned by other citizens, both indigenous and non-indigenous.

Most of these are based on the same points as the three other countries' rejections but, in addition, the United States drew attention to the declaration's failure to provide a clear definition of exactly whom the term "indigenous peoples" is intended to cover.

Obama has told Native American leaders that he wants to improve the "nation-to-nation" relationship between the United States and the tribes and repair broken promises.