12th Session of UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples

The Declaration Passes and the US Assumes a New Role

BY GLENN T. MORRIS

After nearly nine years of debate, deliberation and revision, the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Peoples (UNWGIP), at its 12th Session (25-29 July 1994), completed preparation of the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and sent the document on to higher levels in the UN system. Over 160 indigenous peoples' organizations, forty two state members, nine specialized agencies of the United Nations, and dozens of interested non-governmental organizations, totaling nearly 800 individuals, participated in the 12th Session. The Declaration was forwarded to the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. At its 46th Session (in August 1994), the Sub-Commission agreed to transmit the Declaration to the UN Commission on Human Rights for discussion at its annual meeting in February 1995. For final adoption as an instrument of emerging international law, the Declaration must be ultimately be accepted by the UN General Assembly.

The 12th Session was notable for several important developments that this article reports in some detail. First, there was a significant debate about the Declaration's treatment of the right to self-determination; the ensuing discussion of the issue left momentous questions unresolved. Second, several other major issues that will have great bearing on the rights of indigenous peoples were postponed to future discussions in which they will be detached from the text of the Declaration. And third, the United States Government assumed a new and decidedly more dynamic role among the states that have actively participated in developing the Draft Declaration.

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Fourth World Bulletin • Fall 1994/Winter 1995