RES/27/13 Human rights and indigenous peoples

GE.A/HRC/27/65. 4-17842 (E)



Human Rights Council Twenty-seventh session

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

27/13

Human rights and indigenous peoples

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling all Commission on Human Rights and Human Rights Council resolutions

on human rights and indigenous peoples,

Bearing in mind that the General Assembly, in its resolution 59/174 of 20 December

2004, proclaimed the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People,

Recalling the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations Declaration

on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in its resolution 61/295 on 13 September 2007,

Welcoming the forthcoming thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Voluntary

Fund for Indigenous Peoples in 2015, and acknowledging the decades of its substantive

work to facilitate the direct and meaningful participation of indigenous peoples within the

United Nations, the Human Rights Council and the human rights treaty bodies, also in the

light of this important anniversary,

Recognizing the importance to indigenous peoples of revitalizing, using, developing

and transmitting their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems

and literatures to future generations, and designating and retaining their own names for

communities, places and persons,

Welcoming the completion of the studies by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of

Indigenous Peoples on access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of

indigenous peoples: restorative justice, indigenous juridical systems and access to justice

for indigenous women, children and persons with disabilities1 and on the promotion and

protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in disaster risk reduction, prevention and

preparedness initiatives2 submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh

session, and encouraging all parties to consider the examples of good practices and

recommendations included in these studies as practical advice on how to attain the end

goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,

Stressing the need to pay particular attention to the rights and special needs of

indigenous women, children, youth and persons with disabilities, as set out in the United

Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,

Recognizing the need to find ways and means of promoting the participation of

indigenous peoples’ representatives and institutions within the United Nations system on

issues affecting them, as they are not always organized as non-governmental organizations,

Recognizing also the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption by the International

Labour Organization of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and

its contribution to the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples,

1. Welcomes the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Rights on the rights of indigenous peoples,A/HRC/27/30. and requests the High Commissioner to

continue to submit to the Human Rights Council an annual report on the rights of

indigenous peoples containing information on relevant developments in human rights

bodies and mechanisms and activities undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner

at headquarters and in the field that contribute to the promotion of, respect for and the full

application of the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous

Peoples, and follow-up on the effectiveness of the Declaration;

2. Also welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous

peoples, including the official visits made and her reports, and encourages all Governments

to respond favourably to her requests for visits;

3. Requests the Special Rapporteur to report on the implementation of her

mandate to the General Assembly at its seventieth session;

4. Welcomes the work of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous

Peoples, takes note with appreciation of the report on its seventh session,A/HRC/27/65. and encourages

States to continue to participate in and contribute to its discussions, including by their

national specialized bodies and institutions;

5. Requests the Expert Mechanism to prepare a study on the promotion and

protection of the rights of indigenous peoples with respect to their cultural heritage,

including through their participation in political and public life, and to present it to the

Human Rights Council at its thirtieth session;

6. Also requests the Expert Mechanism to continue to undertake, with the

assistance of the Office of the High Commissioner, the questionnaire survey to seek the

views of States and indigenous peoples on best practices regarding possible appropriate

measures and implementation strategies in order to attain the end goals of the United

Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with a view to completing a final

summary of responses for presentation to the Human Rights Council at its thirtieth session,

and encourages States and indigenous peoples that have not yet provided their responses to

do so, as well as those States and indigenous peoples that have already responded to the

questionnaire survey to update their responses as appropriate;

2 A/HRC/27/66.

7. Welcomes the adoption by the General Assembly of its resolutions 65/198 of

21 December 2010 and 66/296 of 17 September 2012 on the organization of the high-level

plenary meeting of the General Assembly, known as the World Conference on Indigenous

Peoples, held on 22 and 23 September 2014, and takes note of the preparatory process,

including the meetings that took place in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, Plurinational State of

Bolivia, and Chiang Mai, Thailand, as well as the previous meetings in Alta, Norway, and

in Guatemala City;

8. Also welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on ways and means of

promoting participation in the United Nations of indigenous peoples’ representatives on the

issues affecting them,A/HRC/21/24. and invites the Secretary-General, taking into account the views

expressed by indigenous peoples, to present options, including recommendations regarding

concrete proposals, to the General Assembly at its seventieth session in this regard;

9. Decides to hold, at its thirtieth session, a half-day panel discussion on the

follow-up to and implementation of the outcome of the World Conference on Indigenous

Peoples, and its implications for the achievement of the ends of the United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

10. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation and coordination among the Special

Rapporteur, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism, and

their permanent effort to promote the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of

Indigenous People, including the follow-up to the World Conference of Indigenous

Peoples, and invites them to continue to work in close cooperation with all Human Rights

Council mechanisms, within their respective mandates;

11. Reaffirms that the United Nations treaty bodies are important mechanisms for

the promotion and protection of human rights, and encourages States to give serious

consideration to their recommendations regarding indigenous peoples;

12. Welcomes the contribution of the universal periodic review to the realization

of the rights of indigenous peoples, and encourages the effective follow-up to accepted

universal periodic review recommendations concerning indigenous peoples;

13. Encourages those States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour

Organization or that have not yet supported the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of

Indigenous Peoples to consider doing so;

14. Welcomes the increased support by States for the United Nations Declaration

on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the commemoration of the seventh anniversary of

its adoption, and encourages States that have endorsed it to adopt measures to pursue its

objectives in consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples;

15. Encourages States to give due consideration to all the rights of indigenous

peoples in the process of the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda and to take

measures to ensure the participation of indigenous peoples, and in particular indigenous

youth, in national processes for the implementation of the new development goals;

16. Welcomes the role of national human rights institutions established in

accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the

promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) in advancing indigenous

issues, and encourages such institutions to develop and strengthen their capacities to fulfil

that role effectively, including with the support of the Office of the High Commissioner;

17. Takes note of the activity of the United Nations Indigenous Peoples’

Partnership, and invites States and other potential donors to support it;

18. Invites States and other public or private actors or institutions to contribute to

the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples as an important means of

promoting the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide and within the United Nations

system;

19. Decides to continue its consideration of this question at a future session in

conformity with its annual programme of work.

39th meeting

25 September 2014

[Adopted without a vote.]