CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE TRATADOS INDIOS

STATEMENT

(not official version - reprint from a scanned document)

On "Indigenous Peoples' permanent sovereignty over natural resources”

before

The second session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

By professor Dr. ERICA-IRENE A. DAES

United Nations

New York, City 20 May 2003

Thank You Mr. Chairman,

At the outset, I should like warmly to congratulate you on your election to the chairmanship of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Indeed, it is a particular pleasure for me to see a distinguished Personality of the Sami Peoples to chair the Permanent Forum for the second time. I wish you a fruitful completion of your of historic importance work.

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on the following acute, very important and timing topic:" The Indigenous Peoples' Permanent Sovereignty over natural resources". In the Decades after the second World War the principle of international law of permanent sovereignty over natural resources became a central principle of decolonization and an essential aspect of self-determination. This principle that peoples and nations have permanent ownership of and control over their natural wealth and resources is a principle that should now be applied to the world's indigenous peoples.

In our times, practically every State claims for itself sovereignty over natural resources while denying this right, in whole or in part, to indigenous peoples. It is my opinion that we should now begin to consider this important problem, to examine systematically all its aspects and to discuss it with States, in order to uphold indigenous peoples' right to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources.  In this respect, first of all, the following important principle should be firefly examined: peoples and nations must have the authority to control and enjoy the benefits of the development and conservation of their natural resources. This principle in modern law arose from the struggle of colonized peoples to achieve political and economic self-determination after thee Second World War.

Since the early 1950s the principle has been advocated as a means of securing for peoples living under colonial rule the economic benefits derived from the natural resources within

their territories and to give newly independent States the legal authority to combat and redress of their economic sovereignty arising from oppressive and inequitable

contracts and other arrangements.

The United Nations has been the birthplace of this principle and the main forum for its development and implementation. Relevant resolutions were first adopted by

the General Assembly established the Commission on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources and instructed it to conduct a full survey of the status of permanent sovereignty over natural wealth and resources as a basic constituent of the right to self-determination. But it was General Assembly resolution 1803 (XVII) in 1962 that gave the principle momentum under international law in the decolonization process.

In this historic resolution the General Assembly declared, inter alia: "the right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources must be exercised in the interest of their national development and of the well-being of the people of the State-concerned. The exploration , development and disposition of such resources, as well as the import of the foreign capital for these purposes, should be in conformity with the rules and conditions which the peoples and nations freely consider to be necessary or desirable with regard to the authorization, restriction or prohibition of such activities”.

In the above-mentioned resolution, the General Assembly further declared:

" Violation of the right of peoples and nations to sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources is contrary to the spirit and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and hinders the development of international cooperation and the maintenance of

peace."

In all, the United Nations has adopted more than 80 resolutions relating to the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources. Moreover, the substance of the principle has been incorporated in the draft declaration on the right rights of indigenous peoples. However, this principle has not yet been duly analyzed and expressly considered , in

particular in the context of indigenous peoples.

It is apparent that this basic principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources applies as well to indigenous peoples for the following reasons, among others:

(a)     Indigenous peoples are colonized peoples in the historical, economic ,and political sense;

(b)     Indigenous peoples suffer from unfair and unequal economic arrangements typically suffered by other colonized peoples;

(c)     The principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources is necessary to level the economic and political playing field and to provide protection against unfair and

oppressive economic arrangements;

 (d)     Indigenous peoples have a right to development and actively to participate in the realization of this right; sovereignty over their natural resources is an essential prerequisite for this;

(e)     The natural resources originally belonged to the indigenous peoples concerned and were not freely and fairly given up.

Mr. Chairman,                   

In conclusion, I should like to clarify that the term "sovereignty" is legally proper to continue to be effectively applied to indigenous peoples. The meaning of the term

"sovereignty" in relation to the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources can be generally stated, as legal, governmental control or management authority over

natural resources, particularly as an aspect of the exercise of the fundamental right of self-determination.

Thank you for your kind attention,

Erica-Irene A. Daes