The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions [T]he adoption of the Declaration […] – important though it was – will not in itself change the everyday lives of men, women and children whose rights it champions. For this we need the political commitment of States, international cooperation, and the support and goodwill of the public at large, to create and implement a range of intensely political programmes, designed and undertaken in consultation with indigenous peoples themselves.153 The Declaration adopts language that imposes obligations and responsibilities on States.154 Accordingly, the United Nations system is increasingly recommending that States take concrete and targeted actions in this regard. For example, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has made recommendations to States that they review their laws and policies that impact on indigenous peoples in light of the Declaration.155 As noted previously, the rights of indigenous peoples are grounded in international human rights instruments. Provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination are particularly relevant to indigenous peoples’ issues. The treaty bodies have, in their reports and recommendations, provided general interpretations of the rights set out in these treaties and their application to indigenous peoples: • The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued general recommendation No. 23, which calls on States parties to ensure indigenous peoples’ rights to culture, land and political participation are recognized. It has also clarified that indigenous peoples’ rights, which are permanent rights, should not be confused with temporary “special measures” – which are measures intended to remedy past discrimination or to correct contemporary inequalities – in a general comment on special measures. • The Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted an important and extensive general comment on the rights of the indigenous child and has made references to the Declaration in its examination of State party reports. • The Human Rights Committee continues to invoke the right to self-determination in relation to indigenous peoples, particularly article 1 (2) (the right to freely dispose of natural wealth and the right to be secure in the means of subsistence). It has also highlighted the obligation on States to “ensure that indigenous peoples are able to exercise their right to free, prior and informed consent”.156 Further, the Committee has interpreted article 27 (the right to culture) as a valid basis for indigenous peoples’ claims to land and resources. • The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has also made reference to article 1 in relation to the effective enjoyment by indigenous peoples of their rights to ancestral domains, lands and natural resources. It has adopted a general comment on non-discrimination in relation to economic, social and cultural rights that is very relevant to indigenous peoples. The Committee has also adopted an important general comment on the right to take part in cultural life that contains substantial text on indigenous peoples and affirms the rights recognized in the Declaration. It relates territorial rights to cultural identity, using language from the Declaration about indigenous peoples’ right to own and control their lands, territories and resources, as well as stressing that States should respect the principle of free, prior and informed consent in all matters that affect the rights of indigenous peoples. 153 Joint statement by Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people (9 August 2008), available at www.un.org/events/indigenous/2008/ hcmessage.shtml. 154 See, for example, articles 38, 41 and 42 of the Declaration. 155 For example, the Special Rapporteur recommended that the Russian Federation should “engage in a comprehensive review of the laws and policies of the Russian Federation to ensure their compatibility with the Declaration, and take further coordinated action to implement the standards of the Declaration within the particular context of indigenous peoples in Russia” (A/HRC/15/37/ Add.5), para. 82. 156 CCPR/C/TGO/CO/4, para. 21. 38 | Chapter 5: The implementation of the Declaration