نصائح البحث
sorted by
30 shown of 568 entities
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The impact of free trade and international investment agreements on human rights is broadly recognized as including issues such as land rights, environmental degradation, poverty, the State's regulatory and protective capacity, democratic deficit and challenges to the rule of law in relation to the development and enforcement of such agreements and the Government's ability to provide services such as health and water. Those issues have been recognized within the human rights and business agenda. The issue was discussed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, and is included within principle 9 of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The principle articulates that "States should maintain adequate domestic policy space to meet their human rights obligations when pursuing business-related policy objectives with other States or business enterprises, for instance through investment treaties or contracts".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- When looking at available socioeconomic data disaggregated by ethnicity and gender, there is no doubt that indigenous women experience particular and interrelated forms of discrimination because of their indigenous identity and their gender. Gender-based discrimination is a sad reality in most countries, and it is also found within some indigenous societies where, for example, women may not traditionally have participated in governance institutions or where girls are not encouraged to study. In short, many indigenous women still face additional gender-based discrimination, which leads to disadvantages, marginalization and, in extreme cases, to violence, physical mutilation, trafficking, prostitution and restricted access to justice. On the other hand, there is ample documentation of the strong and crucial roles played by indigenous women in many areas of life, including food production, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, transmission of languages, culture and knowledge, conflict resolution and peacekeeping.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extractive industries and indigenous peoples 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur observes that in a number of cases States have asserted the power to expropriate indigenous property interests in land or surface resources in order to have or permit access to the subsurface resources to which the State claims ownership. Such an expropriation being a limitation of indigenous property rights, even if just compensation is provided, a threshold question in such cases is whether the limitation is pursuant to a valid public purpose. The Special Rapporteur cautions that such a valid public purpose is not found in mere commercial interests or revenue-raising objectives, and certainly not when benefits from the extractive activities are primarily for private gain. It should be recalled that under various sources of international law, indigenous peoples have property, cultural and other rights in relation to their traditional territories, even if those rights are not held under a title deed or other form of official recognition. Limitations of all those rights of indigenous peoples must, at a minimum, be backed by a valid public purpose within a human rights framework, just as with limitations on rights formally recognized by the State.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- The Colombia Centre on Sustainable Investment submitted an application to file a written submission in the case, but was denied by the tribunal. The amicus submission had pointed to the inconsistency between the investor's understanding of what is meant by "an investment" and the definition in the free trade agreement. Furthermore, it had raised the consequent non-applicability of the fair and equitable treatment standard and the failure to demonstrate legitimate expectations, even if that standard had been applied. Similarly, it had pointed to the central role that the requirement to seek and obtain free, prior and informed consent should play in the assessment of the facts and the determination of the award, and the urgency of ensuring compliance with this requirement, in the light of the extensive mining-related social conflict throughout Peru. According to the submission, providing compensation to the company would be equivalent to granting it a right to exploitation and would disregard indigenous peoples' rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- At the global level, protected-areas policy is shaped by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A membership organization, as at April 2016, IUCN had 1,351 members, including 89 States, 128 government agencies, 48 affiliates, 112 international NGOs, and 974 national NGOs. The latter two categories include 12 indigenous peoples' organizations. Every four years, IUCN members meet at the World Conservation Congress, where resolutions are adopted on conservation policies, and every ten years a World Parks Congress is held to deliberate on global commitments related to protected areas. World Parks Congresses constitute the most important global forums for setting international standards and guidelines for protected areas. At the Congress held in Durban in 2003, the world's leading conservationists announced a "new paradigm" for protected areas which would respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. This important shift in the approach to conservation was adopted in response to growing public opinion that conventional protected area models wrongly excluded or marginalized indigenous peoples and local communities from their governance and management.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- One such example is the undervaluing of the traditional livelihoods and occupations of indigenous peoples, such as traditional fishing practices, hunting and gathering, pastoralism and shifting cultivation. In all parts of the world, indigenous peoples who are engaged in such sustainable but non-sedentary subsistence activities face overwhelming threats to their collective rights to lands, territories and resources, which form the basis of their livelihoods as well as their culture and identity. As observed by the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issue "...national development policies often consider traditional livelihood activities as no longer relevant and sometimes seek to discourage them, even in the absence of viable alternatives". The Special Rapporteur observes that this situation persists despite the fact that the dominant development strategies have led to immense challenges related to the adverse effects of climate change, loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, financial instability, increasing inequalities and unemployment and social crises in many countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against indigenous women and girls; rights of indigenous peoples in relation to extractive industries 2012, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- In the view of the Special Rapporteur, however, a more fundamental problem persists: the model of natural resource extraction that is being promoted by corporations and States for the development and extraction of natural resources within indigenous habitats. It is a model in which the initial plans for exploration and extraction of natural resources are developed by the corporation, with perhaps some involvement by the State, but with little or no involvement of the affected indigenous community or people. The corporation controls the extractive operation and takes the resources and profits from it, with the State gaining royalties or taxes, and indigenous peoples at best being offered benefits in the form of jobs or community development projects that typically pale in economic value in comparison to the profits gained by the corporation. It is a model of colonial overtones, in which indigenous peoples see their territories again encroached upon by outsiders who control aspects of their habitats and take from them, even when done with the promise of corporate social responsibility.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against indigenous women and girls; rights of indigenous peoples in relation to extractive industries 2012, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In February 2012, the Special Rapporteur also participated in and gave a keynote speech at a conference on indigenous peoples, corporations and the environment, which was held in Kirkenes, Norway, and organized by the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Barents Regional Council, a consultative body comprising representatives of the Nenets, Sami and Vepsian peoples within the Barents region in the northern parts of Finland, Norway and the Russian Federation. The conference featured presentations by representatives of indigenous peoples, Governments and industry about the implications for indigenous peoples of strategies and proposals for new natural resources extractive activities in the Barents region. In his keynote speech, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that there was a need to implement a new development model in which indigenous peoples would have the opportunity to be genuine partners, in particular in the context of natural resource extractive activities taking place in or near their traditional territories.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The need to harmonize activities affecting indigenous peoples within the United Nations system 2012, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- In spite of this recognition, the final text of the document was considered to be largely uninspiring and a disappointment to indigenous peoples for its failure to integrate a human rights approach adequately into environmental protection. For example, while the final text recognizes the importance of strong and effective legal and regulatory frameworks, policies and practices for the mining sector, including effective safeguards that reduce social and environmental impacts, as well as conserving biodiversity and ecosystems, it does not make any specific mention of the effect of mining activities on human rights generally or the rights of indigenous peoples in particular. The relative lack of focus on human rights in the outcome document was viewed by indigenous peoples as especially disappointing, considering that international, regional and national courts and human rights bodies are increasingly acknowledging environmental damage as a source of human rights violations and have established that States have a responsibility for environmental protection in the context of respect for human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The need to harmonize activities affecting indigenous peoples within the United Nations system 2012, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- A related process in which indigenous peoples have been active is the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which was held from 20 to 22 June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro and was attended by heads of State, international institutions, non-governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders. The conference marked the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the three environmental conventions mentioned in paragraph 63 above at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Also adopted at that conference was Agenda 21, a plan of action addressing various issues related to environmental protection, including economic and social development, conservation and resource management and strengthening the role of "major groups", a designation that includes indigenous peoples. The objective of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development was to build on commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 and to adopt clear and practical measures which would support and advance sustainable development.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 88h
- Paragraph text
- [We are committed to strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme as the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. We reaffirm General Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972 establishing the United Nations Environment Programme and other relevant resolutions that reinforce its mandate, as well as the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme of 7 February 1997 and the Malmö Ministerial Declaration of 31 May 2000. In this regard, we invite the Assembly, at its sixty-seventh session, to adopt a resolution strengthening and upgrading the United Nations Environment Programme in the following manner:] Ensure the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, drawing on best practices and models from relevant multilateral institutions and exploring new mechanisms to promote transparency and the effective engagement of civil society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 88a
- Paragraph text
- [We are committed to strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme as the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. We reaffirm General Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972 establishing the United Nations Environment Programme and other relevant resolutions that reinforce its mandate, as well as the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme of 7 February 1997 and the Malmö Ministerial Declaration of 31 May 2000. In this regard, we invite the Assembly, at its sixty-seventh session, to adopt a resolution strengthening and upgrading the United Nations Environment Programme in the following manner:] Establish universal membership in the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as other measures to strengthen its governance as well as its responsiveness and accountability to Member States;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 76e
- Paragraph text
- [We recognize that effective governance at the local, subnational, national, regional and global levels representing the voices and interests of all is critical for advancing sustainable development. The strengthening and reform of the institutional framework should not be an end in itself, but a means to achieve sustainable development. We recognize that an improved and more effective institutional framework for sustainable development at the international level should be consistent with the Rio Principles, build on Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and its objectives on the institutional framework for sustainable development, contribute to the implementation of our commitments in the outcomes of United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields and take into account national priorities and the development strategies and priorities of developing countries. We therefore resolve to strengthen the institutional framework for sustainable development, which will, inter alia:] Promote full and effective participation of all countries in decision-making processes;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 76a
- Paragraph text
- [We recognize that effective governance at the local, subnational, national, regional and global levels representing the voices and interests of all is critical for advancing sustainable development. The strengthening and reform of the institutional framework should not be an end in itself, but a means to achieve sustainable development. We recognize that an improved and more effective institutional framework for sustainable development at the international level should be consistent with the Rio Principles, build on Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and its objectives on the institutional framework for sustainable development, contribute to the implementation of our commitments in the outcomes of United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields and take into account national priorities and the development strategies and priorities of developing countries. We therefore resolve to strengthen the institutional framework for sustainable development, which will, inter alia:] Promote the balanced integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 105
- Paragraph text
- In addition, while many Governments are committed to and have demonstrated an awareness of the need to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, the responses to the questionnaire received by the Special Rapporteur from States, coupled with those received from other sources, also reflect a lack of consensus with regard to the extent of a State's duties concerning resource extraction and development projects and the means of ensuring such protection. In several responses, particularly those received from businesses, it was pointed out that Governments tend to distance themselves from the implementation of the outcomes of consultation procedures and other measures to safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of extractive operations and to act as mere regulators. The fact that States tended to delegate their protective role to business enterprises was repeatedly pointed out as a matter of concern, particularly in cases in which the State's regulatory frameworks regarding indigenous rights, including in relation to the protection of lands and resources, consultation and benefit-sharing, are insufficient or do not exist.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right of indigenous peoples to development with culture and identity, the right of indigenous peoples to participation and the obligation of States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2010, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Further, it is apparent from experiences worldwide that the capacity of indigenous peoples to successfully pursue their own development priorities requires the strengthening of their own institutions and self-government structures. This will 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. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur echoes the statements of indigenous leaders around the world about the need for indigenous peoples themselves to continue to strengthen their own organizational and local governance capacities, in order to meet the challenges faced by their communities with respect to development, including complex decisions regarding natural resource extraction and other major development projects on their lands.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the work of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples 2017, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Multilateral environmental agreements should also consider the Declaration as the framework when adopting decisions which affect indigenous peoples. Good decisions have emerged from the sessions of the Conferences of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and there are positive practices in terms of creating spaces for indigenous peoples within the bodies of these Conventions. For example, under the Convention on Biological Diversity there is a Working Group on article 8 (j) on the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities. Since 2007, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity has noted the existence of the Declaration in decisions and has adopted guidelines relevant for indigenous peoples. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change, at its twenty-first session, recognized the need to strengthen knowledge, technologies, practices and efforts of local communities and indigenous peoples related to addressing and responding to climate change, and established a platform for the exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices on mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the work of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The nature of the allegations received by the mandate holder indicates an increase in violence against indigenous peoples when they defend their basic human rights, including their rights to lands and resources. Within this context, the use of anti-terrorist legislation, the terming of human rights defence as a criminal activity, and impunity when crimes against indigenous peoples are committed remain very serious concerns. In the past 10 years the mandate holder has addressed, often together with other special procedures mandate holders, many cases of violence against indigenous peoples, their leaders and representatives. This has been undertaken through the communications procedure and the release of public statements. The mandate holder has also sought to address these situations by engaging the Governments in constructive dialogues and by undertaking working visits to examine the issues in more depth. The Special Rapporteur intends to develop further research on this issue but would like to emphasize that the underlying reason for the key problems seen in these cases is the lack of observance of indigenous land, natural resources and related rights recognized in the Declaration and other human rights instruments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 103b
- Paragraph text
- Host States must comply with their duty to regulate in relation to indigenous peoples' rights to: (b) Restitution of land, territories and resources taken without free, prior and informed consent;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 103a
- Paragraph text
- Host States must comply with their duty to regulate in relation to indigenous peoples' rights to: (a) Lands, territories and resources, necessitating demarcation based on customary land tenure, possession and use;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- In 2015, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was signed by 12 countries from three continents that, together, account for a large part of global trade. Of those countries, 11 have significant populations of indigenous peoples, a growing number of which are negatively affected by large-scale foreign investment projects in their territories. Those peoples have expressed their concerns in relation to the lack of protections for their rights vis-à-vis those of foreign investors, and the imbalance in remedies. They have also criticized the absence of consultation in the negotiation of the Partnership and the lack of any human rights impact assessments. As pointed out by the Waitangi Tribunal, the failure to adequately consult on the Partnership "harms the relationship [with indigenous peoples] and increases the probability of a low-trust and adversarial relationship going forward". In that regard, indigenous peoples are demanding good-faith consultations prior to ratification as they fear that, unless adequate protections are included, the Partnership will facilitate projects and activities that lead to further conflict and serious violation of rights to lands, territories and natural resources, including their rights to traditional knowledge.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- In Glamis Gold v. United States (2009), an arbitration panel found against the company, which had been refused access to a sacred area of the Quechan tribal nation. The decision hinged on the tribunal's position that its role was to assess if the customary international law standard of fair and equitable treatment had been breached and not to assess if the State had fairly balanced the competing rights of the Quechan nation and the company. It held that the State had been justified in relying upon the opinion of the professionals it had engaged and that, as the investor's expectations had not been induced by the State in a quasi-contractual manner, they did not trigger a treaty breach. The decision also pointed to the significance of the highly regulated environment in California with respect to environmental measures in general and mineral exploration in particular, which should have tempered the investor's expectations. The tribunal accepted the Quechan amicus submission but did not engage with its argument that international human rights law as it pertained to indigenous peoples was applicable in the case.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Typically, the host States involved employ economic development policies aimed at the exploitation of energy, mineral, land or other resources that are predominantly located in the territories of indigenous peoples. The government agencies responsible for implementing those policies regard such lands and resources as available for unhindered exploitation and actively promote them as such abroad to generate capital inflows. Recognition of indigenous peoples' rights in the domestic legal framework is either non-existent, inadequate or not enforced. Where they exist, institutions mandated to uphold indigenous peoples' rights are politically weak, unaccountable or underfunded. Indigenous peoples lack access to remedies in home and host States and are forced to mobilize, leading to criminalization, violence and deaths. They experience profound human rights violations as a result of impacts on their lands, livelihoods, cultures, development options and governance structures, which, in some cases, threaten their very cultural and physical survival. Projects are stalled and there is a trend towards investor-State dispute settlements related to fair and equitable treatment, full protection and security and expropriation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Over the past decade, increasing evidence supports the correlation between secure indigenous tenure and positive conservation outcomes, at times better than those achieved in State-managed protected areas. The effectiveness of indigenous-owned lands in resisting deforestation in Brazil is well known. In Namibia, community-based wildlife management has resulted in significant growth in wildlife populations, especially in areas that had formerly been subject to heavy poaching. In Australia and the United States of America, indigenous peoples effectively manage or co-manage protected areas, through dynamic and sustainable partnerships which seek to redress past exclusion policies. In the Philippines, the national Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act includes a provision that protected areas within or overlapping ancestral domains will remain protected but that indigenous communities have primary responsibility for maintaining and protecting such areas. The law governing protected areas in the Philippines, the National Integrated Protected Areas Act, calls for indigenous peoples' participation in protected-area management boards. However, certain obstacles remain. For example, indigenous participation in management boards is impeded by a lack of training and orientation for indigenous peoples on their roles and responsibilities and such meetings tend to be conducted using overly technical language.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- In Thailand, the Government requested the listing of the Kaeng Krachen National Park in 2013 as a World Heritage park in 2013 without consulting the local indigenous Karen peoples. The Karen have experienced forced evictions, destruction of housing and crops, arrests and enforced disappearances. On 17 April 2014, a Karen human rights defender disappeared after attending a meeting on a lawsuit against park officials for destruction of Karen housing in 2010/2011. Park officials acknowledged having detained him earlier that day for illegal possession of wild honey, but claimed to have released him subsequently. His whereabouts have been unknown since. The Karen have expressed concerns over the potential listing of the park as a World Heritage site, fearing that it would result in further evictions, prohibitions on the gathering of wild honey and herbs and an increase of tourism, which would affect the environment negatively, creating problems, notably with waste management. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has advised the World Heritage Committee to ensure that comprehensive consultations are held by the Thai Government with Karen communities, to ensure respect for their rights, to refrain from evictions and to ensure that the communities can participate in the management of the park if it is designated a World Heritage park.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Among the key challenges reported by conservation organizations in advancing in implementation at the national level are non-conducive political and legal settings in which indigenous peoples are not recognized. However, given the powerful position of conservation organizations vis-à-vis authorities in developing countries with weak rule of law, they should use their leverage better and more affirmatively in order to influence national authorities and advocate for legislative reform, the application of free, prior and informed consent and the restitution of ancestral lands of indigenous peoples. As indigenous rights to customary lands, territories and natural resources have yet to be effectively recognized in numerous countries, conservation organizations can play a key role in supporting indigenous peoples in such endeavours and encourage dialogue with authorities to this end. It is thus a positive development that several conservation organizations indicate that they are undertaking such efforts in numerous countries. The Special Rapporteur, however, urges that such engagement be significantly expanded to support legal and policy shifts in countries which still fail to recognize indigenous peoples' rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Protected areas are among the cross-cutting issues addressed under the Convention on Biological Diversity. In 2004, the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention adopted a programme of work on protected areas. It states that the establishment, management and monitoring of protected areas should take place with the full and effective participation of, and full respect for the rights of, indigenous peoples consistent with national law and applicable international obligations. In the programme of work, parties are requested to ensure that any resettlement of indigenous communities as a consequence of the establishment or management of protected areas will only take place with their prior informed consent that may be given according to national legislation and applicable international obligations. In 2014, the Conference of the Parties adopted a decision which highlighted the requirement that protected areas and management regimes must be consensual and participatory if indigenous peoples' rights are to be respected. It also recognized the contribution of indigenous peoples' own conservation initiatives within their territories to the effective conservation of important biodiversity sites.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The expanse of protected areas nearly doubled over a period two decades, from 8.7 million square kilometres in 1980 to 16.1 million square kilometres in 2000. There is significant spatial overlap between the traditional lands of indigenous peoples and areas which retain the highest levels of high-biodiversity. Traditional indigenous territories encompass around 22 per cent of the world's land surface and they coincide with areas that hold 80 per cent of the planet's biodiversity. It has been estimated that 50 per cent of protected areas worldwide has been established on lands traditionally occupied and used by indigenous peoples and that this proportion is highest in the Americas, where it may exceed 90 per cent in Central America. Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Colombia, as well as Canada and the United States of America, all have a high percentage of protected areas on indigenous traditional territory. Overlap is also significant in Australia and New Zealand. Most of the protected areas in India, Nepal and the Philippines include the territories of indigenous peoples. Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania are among the African countries in which large parts of the protected areas are located on indigenous peoples' ancestral domains.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- [To human rights monitoring mechanisms and relevant United Nations bodies and agencies:] Devote further attention to monitoring the impact conservation measures have on indigenous peoples, in order to promote a rights-based approach to protected areas management by government authorities and conservation organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- [To donors:] Require that conservation organizations adopt human rights policies and monitor the application of human rights-based conservation programmes, notably in relation to indigenous peoples' rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph