CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE TRATADOS INDIOS

 Conference Resolution

Commission on International Instruments and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

International Indian Treaty Council Conference

Wednesday 6^th – Saturday 9^th February 2002

Kahutapu Marae, Wairoa, Tauranga Moana

1. The Draft Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

1. We reaffirm that the rights of Indigenous Peoples are inherent and inalienable.  They were bestowed on us by the Creator, and they have been heroically defended and handed down by our ancestors since time immemorial.  These rights are held in trust by Indigenous Peoples for their future generations.  We therefore affirm that in our work at the United Nations we are seeking recognition for these inherent rights.  We do not recognize the authority of the United Nations or its member states to either bestow or remove any rights from our Peoples and Nations.

2. We reaffirm that the Draft Declaration in its current text is a minimum standard for the recognition and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights worldwide.  We reaffirm our commitment to defend the current text as approved by the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the Sub-commission for the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples around the world, and we reject any attempts by states to weaken, limit, amend or qualify the rights it now upholds. 

3. We reaffirm that article 44 of the Draft Declaration states that “nothing in this Declaration may be construed as diminishing or extinguishing existing or future rights Indigenous Peoples may have or acquire.”

4. We recognize that the Right to Self-Determination as affirmed by Article 3 of the Draft Declaration, in accordance with the exiting international law, includes the full range of options for the free determination of their political status by Indigenous Peoples, including independence. 

5. We support and encourage Indigenous Peoples to begin using existing text and specific articles of the Draft Declaration to assert their rights, support their negotiations and advance the adoption of new policies on the local and national levels. 

2. Decolonization

We call upon the IITC to explore means to reopen the UN Decolonization process for Indigenous Peoples and Nations who choose to pursue this option.

C.     Treaties

1.      We reaffirm that treaties are sacred living covenants, which guide the relations between Nations and Peoples of this world.  They are international covenants which cannot be subjugated or abrogated by domestic law.  We demand that states uphold their treaty obligations to Indigenous Nations in accordance with their spirit, intent and language as understood by the Indigenous Nations and Peoples who freely entered into them.

2.      We reaffirm that non-treaty Indigenous Peoples have not relinquished any of their rights inherent under international and national law.

3.      The IITC calls upon the UN to recognize and enforce treaties freely entered into by Indigenous Nations with states as covenants with the force of international law.

D.     Full Participation

As Indigenous Peoples, we insist that there be transparency and full participation in all international processes and bodies that affect and address our rights, lands, Peoples, and survival.

E.      The United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples

The IITC expects that the Permanent Forum, which will hold its first meeting in May 2002 New York, will reflect and respond to the reality and needs of Indigenous Peoples around the world.  The IITC will work to insure that this expectation becomes reality.

F.      Economic Globalization and Indigenous Trade

We affirm that economic globalization and the international policies and institutions that promote it, encourage imposed development, resources extrication and the appropriation and contamination of Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories all over the world.  Furthermore, it directly undermines Indigenous Peoples’ self determination, means of subsistence and permanent sovereignty over their natural resources as affirmed for all Peoples under international law.

The IITC will continue our opposition to imposed development and resource extrication on Indigenous Peoples’ traditional lands and territories by multi-national and transnational corporations, and will also continue to oppose the international trade policies and institutions which promote and facilitate these destructive activities.

As an alternative to imposed development, IITC will work to promote and support development of Indigenous to Indigenous trade based on sustainability, cultural integrity, environmental protection and the principle of self-determination.

G.     The Organization of American States Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

We reaffirm the resolutions adopted at the 1999 and 2000 International Indian Treaty Conferences in Bear Butte, South Dakota and Xela, Guatemala to reject both the process and content of the OAS Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, since the process has excluded the full and real participation of Indigenous Peoples and it contains provisions which attempt to seriously weaken and undermine the rights of Indigenous Peoples under international law.

8. Information Sharing and Capacity Building

IITC will continue to strengthen and expand its programs for informing, creating opportunities and building participation of Indigenous Peoples in these and other areas of international work that affect their lives, rights and survival.

       Adopted by Consensus, February 9, 2002