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Today African states should be ashamed of their
contribution to one of the worst days in human rights history.
Today, African states displayed the fact that they could not accept a
human rights instrument that is fair, balanced and consistent with
international law and its progressive development in the specific context
of the world’s Indigenous Peoples. They did so by advancing a “no
action” motion in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, which
was considering the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.
Rather than support its adoption, African states, on
a procedural matter, voted in favor of a delay purportedly for
dialogue. For this reason, the Inuit Circumpolar Council and Saami
Council are outraged by the open politicization of this important UN human
rights instrument.
On the purported basis that some of the African
states did not had ample time to consider the import of the Declaration,
today’s action essentially derails the Declaration and fully rejects over
20 years of State and Indigenous Peoples work at the UN. It is
ironic that the African states took such an action in light of the aim of
the Declaration: to elaborate the fundamental human rights of the
most politically, economically, socially and culturally marginalized
peoples in the world – Indigenous peoples.
The Inuit Circumpolar Council and Saami Council know
that the African states were not acting alone in this mission. We
know that they were aided and abetted by the deceitful work of Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and the United States – each of whom have been
subjects of early warning/urgent action measures or alarming concluding
observations by the UN treaty bodies in direct relation to Indigenous
human rights.
Furthermore, this decision is a huge insult to the
newly established Human Rights Council and the supposed UN reform of its
human rights pillar. The resolution was an outright rejection of the
one of the Council’s first recommendations. Though Indigenous
peoples have been told that they have a home at the UN, Secretary General
Kofi Annan’s own fellow nation-state members could not bring themselves to
support the basic human rights of Indigenous
peoples.
The Inuit Circumpolar Council and Saami Council are
aware that any further action will likely lead us away from the
unprecedented consensus language reflected in the Declaration. The
world community must recognize that the burden is now upon the African
states concerned and whether or not they will put their money where their
mouths are. Finally, despite this setback, the Inuit and Saami
remain vigilant in the promotion and protection of our human
rights.
Contact:
Dalee Sambo
Dorough Mattias Åhrén
Inuit Circumpolar
Council Saami Council
+907 440 2539
mobile +47 47 37 91 61
+907 677 7944
office mattias.ahren@saamicouncil.net
dsdorough@gci.net
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