19 May 2017: UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Peter Thomson circulated the first revised draft of a UNGA resolution on ways to enable the participation of indigenous peoples’ representatives and institutions in meetings of relevant UN bodies on issues affecting them. The revised text, prepared by the four advisers on the consultation process, will serve as the basis for intergovernmental negotiations on 25 and 26 May 2017.
In April 2017, the advisers released a zero draft of the resolution following consultations held from December 2016-February 2017. They gathered indigenous peoples’ feedback on the zero draft in consultations on 26 April and 3 May, and Member States began intergovernmental negotiations on 5 May. The revised text aims to include a variety of proposals, the advisers note in their letter, while narrowing down ways forward. They explain that discussions are still needed on many important issues, including the decisiveness of some selection criteria, and the possibility for consensus in decision-making.
The UNGA would establish a new mechanism to recommend the registration of indigenous peoples’ institutions for participation at the UN.
By the draft, the UNGA would decide to establish a new mechanism to identify and recommend the registration of indigenous peoples’ representative institutions for participation at the UN. The committee would determine its own methods of work, and relevant Member States would be notified when there is an application from a representative institution.
The draft text also invites the UN Human Rights Council, by the end of the 72nd session of UNGA, to make the necessary arrangements for indigenous peoples’ representative institutions to attend and participate at its meetings. It also stipulates that representative institutions will not be permitted to vote, raise points of order, co-sponsor resolutions, move amendments to resolutions, submit resolutions, or take decisions or other prerogatives of Member States.
Issues still under discussion include: the balance of references to the UN Charter, which includes respect for States’ territorial integrity, with references to the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples; whether the UNGA President may invite indigenous peoples’ representative institutions to attend and participate in additional meetings on issues affecting them in the UNGA Main and other Committees and its subsidiary bodies; whether the registration mechanism would be comprised of an equal number of Member States and representatives of indigenous peoples, or only of state-appointed experts/representatives; and whether commensurate representation from each indigenous socio-cultural region should be a criterion for registration/accreditation.
The UNGA is mandated (A/RES/70/232) to adopt a resolution within the 71st session. A briefing for indigenous peoples on the negotiations will take place on 26 May 2017. The advisers encourage Member States to continue consulting with indigenous peoples in their regions throughout the process. [Revised Draft] [Webpage on UNGA Process] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Consultations on Zero Draft]