EarthRights Urges US Endorsement of UN Indigenous Rights Declaration

As a dissenter to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the United States stands nearly alone. On July 15, 2010, ERI urged the Obama Administration to join the rest of the world in endorsing the Declaration, lending its voice in support of a State Department review process that may change the U.S. position and take an important step in the retreat from “American exceptionalism” on human rights issues.

The Declaration, adopted in 2007 after over two decades of debate, is a comprehensive statement that enshrines important concepts like the idea of collective rights, the sanctity of traditional notions of property and government, and the right to participation and consent in public decisions that affect indigenous peoples. Critically, it states unequivocally that indigenous peoples have a right to protect their natural environment and to be involved in the development of natural resources on the lands they traditionally inhabit and use. Taken as a whole, the Declaration reaffirms that all the rights recognized under international human rights law apply to indigenous peoples, and adapts those rights to ensure that they are applied in a manner that is both effective and appropriate for the particular needs of indigenous groups.

The U.S.’s refusal to endorse the Declaration was particularly disappointing in light of the fact that it was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly three years ago by an overwhelming margin – 144 countries voted in favor, 11 abstained, and just 4 (the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia) voted against it. Although the Declaration imposes no binding legal obligations on its supporters, this rejection by the U.S.– premised, according to an adviser to the U.S. delegation to the U.N., on objections to the provisions on lands and resources – seriously undermined the Declaration’s effectiveness as a statement of universally held values.

Since 2007, two of the abstaining countries (Colombia and Samoa) and two of the opposed countries (Australia and New Zealand) have signaled their support for the Declaration, and Canada has announced its intention to “take steps” to endorse it. Now, as it engages in a review process to reconsider its stance on the Declaration, the U.S. has the opportunity to avoid the dubious distinction of being the sole country to reject a progressive global consensus on the rights of peoples who are typically among the most poorest and most marginalized in the world.

In its submission to the State Department, ERI argued that endorsement of the Declaration could have tangible benefits for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. First, it will give greater credibility and legitimacy to U.S. efforts to promote human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples – efforts that the administration has signaled it is ready to make after many years of relative silence from the U.S. on international indigenous issues. Second, it could give encouragement to promoters of indigenous people’s rights abroad and empower the U.S. to defend them. Third, it will provide greater certainty to U.S. businesses operating in indigenous areas on the international standards applicable to their operations. And finally, it will signal an end to the U.S. policy of human rights exceptionalism, and a return to this country’s historical role as a leader in the development of international human rights standards.