Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases HRC subsidiary body
WORKING GROUP ON INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS CONCLUDES 17TH SESSION
04 August 1999
Share
HR/99/72
4 August 1999
The United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations concluded a five-day annual session on Friday, 30 July, following a review of relevant human-rights developments; discussion of indigenous peoples and their relationship to land; consideration of a report on treaties and other agreements between States and indigenous populations; and debate on such topics as establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system and the drafting of a Declaration on the rights of indigenous populations.
Also discussed, were follow-up on and recent developments regarding indigenous peoples and health; standard-setting activities, including possible guidelines for private-sector energy and mining concerns; and activities carried out as part of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.
The Working Group, which was established in 1982 and serves as the focal point for communication between indigenous groups and the United Nations, draws larger numbers of participants every year, and this year attracted 938, including 44 observer Governments, nine United Nations bodies and organizations, 237 indigenous and other organizations, and a large number of students and scholars. Parallel briefings, workshops and film screenings
were held, sponsored by the World Health Organization, the International
Labour Organization, the World Bank, the European Union, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development Programme, and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The final day of the session was marked by celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, moved from its normal date of 9 August to coincide with the gathering of the Working Group.
The principal theme of the session, “indigenous peoples and their relationship to land”, included presentation of a second progress report on the topic by the Working Group’s Chairperson, Erica-Irene A. Daes, who also is an Expert and Special Rapporteur of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
Some 110 speakers, many of them representatives of indigenous groups, related accounts of continued dispossession of traditional lands and environmental damage to such territories. Many speakers said more had to be done to ensure the right of indigenous peoples to own collectively their homelands. Representatives of several Governments with large indigenous populations also spoke, reporting on national legislation to strengthen indigenous land rights and on the return, or granting of title to lands to indigenous populations, along with efforts to reconcile problems related to ownership of land. Mrs. Daes’s report will now be submitted to the Subcommission.
Discussion of treaties and agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations centred on a final report on the topic by Subcommission Expert and Special Rapporteur Miguel Alfonso Martinez. Mr. Alfonso Martinez’s distinction between indigenous peoples and minorities, and his insistence that indigenous peoples should not be considered minorities, was contested by a number of indigenous delegations. The definition of indigenous peoples has itself been the subject of debate for some time, and no agreement has been reached. The Special Rapporteur confined most of his study to treaties and agreements involving indigenous peoples in the Americas, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
On the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system, numerous speakers stressed that such a forum should not replace the Working Group but serve as a separate body with a scope far broader than the field of human rights.
On the draft United Nations Declaration on the rights of indigenous people or peoples -- whether the word should be singular or plural is a point of contention -- a series of delegates shared the concern of Chairperson/Rapporteur Daes over alleged “obstructionist activities” carried out by a few countries. The Working Group completed its work on the draft Declaration five years ago, yet since then, under the auspices of an ad hoc intersessional working group of the Subcommission, only two articles have been adopted. Mrs. Daes and others charged that a few countries had consistently obstructed the working group’s efforts and had prevented further progress, and said such a policy was unacceptable.
The Expert members of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations will continue to meet during the current session of the Subcommission to analyze the debate and finalize their findings and recommendations, and Mrs. Daes will present the Subcommission with the report of the Working Group.
4 August 1999
The United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations concluded a five-day annual session on Friday, 30 July, following a review of relevant human-rights developments; discussion of indigenous peoples and their relationship to land; consideration of a report on treaties and other agreements between States and indigenous populations; and debate on such topics as establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system and the drafting of a Declaration on the rights of indigenous populations.
Also discussed, were follow-up on and recent developments regarding indigenous peoples and health; standard-setting activities, including possible guidelines for private-sector energy and mining concerns; and activities carried out as part of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.
The Working Group, which was established in 1982 and serves as the focal point for communication between indigenous groups and the United Nations, draws larger numbers of participants every year, and this year attracted 938, including 44 observer Governments, nine United Nations bodies and organizations, 237 indigenous and other organizations, and a large number of students and scholars. Parallel briefings, workshops and film screenings
were held, sponsored by the World Health Organization, the International
Labour Organization, the World Bank, the European Union, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development Programme, and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The final day of the session was marked by celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, moved from its normal date of 9 August to coincide with the gathering of the Working Group.
The principal theme of the session, “indigenous peoples and their relationship to land”, included presentation of a second progress report on the topic by the Working Group’s Chairperson, Erica-Irene A. Daes, who also is an Expert and Special Rapporteur of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
Some 110 speakers, many of them representatives of indigenous groups, related accounts of continued dispossession of traditional lands and environmental damage to such territories. Many speakers said more had to be done to ensure the right of indigenous peoples to own collectively their homelands. Representatives of several Governments with large indigenous populations also spoke, reporting on national legislation to strengthen indigenous land rights and on the return, or granting of title to lands to indigenous populations, along with efforts to reconcile problems related to ownership of land. Mrs. Daes’s report will now be submitted to the Subcommission.
Discussion of treaties and agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations centred on a final report on the topic by Subcommission Expert and Special Rapporteur Miguel Alfonso Martinez. Mr. Alfonso Martinez’s distinction between indigenous peoples and minorities, and his insistence that indigenous peoples should not be considered minorities, was contested by a number of indigenous delegations. The definition of indigenous peoples has itself been the subject of debate for some time, and no agreement has been reached. The Special Rapporteur confined most of his study to treaties and agreements involving indigenous peoples in the Americas, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
On the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system, numerous speakers stressed that such a forum should not replace the Working Group but serve as a separate body with a scope far broader than the field of human rights.
On the draft United Nations Declaration on the rights of indigenous people or peoples -- whether the word should be singular or plural is a point of contention -- a series of delegates shared the concern of Chairperson/Rapporteur Daes over alleged “obstructionist activities” carried out by a few countries. The Working Group completed its work on the draft Declaration five years ago, yet since then, under the auspices of an ad hoc intersessional working group of the Subcommission, only two articles have been adopted. Mrs. Daes and others charged that a few countries had consistently obstructed the working group’s efforts and had prevented further progress, and said such a policy was unacceptable.
The Expert members of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations will continue to meet during the current session of the Subcommission to analyze the debate and finalize their findings and recommendations, and Mrs. Daes will present the Subcommission with the report of the Working Group.