The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions INTERIM REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE (A/65/264, 2010) Enhancing indigenous self-determination is a matter of basic human dignity as well as being conducive to successful practical outcomes. Among the objectives to be pursued in this regard are the following: (a) Enhancing indigenous education and skills in relevant areas so that indigenous peoples themselves can engage and participate in the various components of development programmes and projects that affect them in the modern world, including natural resource extraction projects; (b) Strengthening indigenous peoples’ own institutions and selfgovernment structures to empower them to take control of their own affairs in all aspects of their lives and to ensure that development processes are aligned with their own cultural patterns, values, customs and world-views; (c) Providing indigenous peoples with the opportunity to participate as equal partners in the development process when both their particular interests and the interests of the larger societies of which they form a part are implicated, allowing them to genuinely influence decisions concerning development activities, fully participate in their design and implementation and directly benefit from any economic or other benefits that are derived from them; (d) Allowing indigenous peoples the opportunity to continue to progress and improve decision-making concerning development on their own terms, and to remedy any shortcomings through their own forms of internal regulation and accountability. In this regard, indigenous peoples should be allowed the opportunity to make mistakes, to learn from those mistakes and to build ever greater capacity and wisdom to advance in their own development objectives and choices about the future. Indigenous peoples may exercise self-determination through participating in, and influencing the law and decision-making processes of the State. An example may be found in Law No. 5-2011 on the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples from the Republic of the Congo, which the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has described as being developed in a participatory manner and serves as “good practice in the region for the recognition and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples.”101 Indigenous peoples may also exercise control over the legislation and administrative functions of the State in areas which affect their nations or communities through the devolution of State governance powers. Examples of devolved decision-making power are present in the Sami parliaments of Norway, Sweden and Finland.102 A further option for implementing the right to self-determination is the effective recognition of indigenous peoples’ political and legal institutions by the State and the exercise of direct decision-making power in accordance with their own laws, traditions and customs. 101 A/HRC/18/35/Add.5, para. 41. 102 A/HRC/18/35/Add.2. 22 | Chapter 3: The content of the Declaration: Self-determination; autonomy; and participation, consultation and consent