Negotiations Continue Into New Year: American Declaration on Indigenous Rights
On December 9-12, 2008 in Washington D.C. at a special session of the OAS Working Group in charge of negotiating the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Working Group identified regional concerns that an American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should reflect in comparison with the recently adopted United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Since it was a special session, participants did not negotiate any language concerning the articles of the draft American Declaration. Instead, the session focused on evaluating the negotiation process and identifying specific measures that should be considered in future negotiations.
The Working Group reviewed the following major issues: 1) articles that were already approved, 2) articles that are close to agreement between indigenous and state representatives, and 3) articles containing complex issues where consensus has not been reached.
According to the Indian Law Resource Center, negotiations will resume on the American Declaration on Indigenous Rights early this year.
Specifically, the OAS Working Group will start negotiating articles at its next negotiation session scheduled for February 16-20, 2009 preceded by preparatory meetings of the Indigenous Caucus on February 14-15, 2009.
This is an important notice because tribal leaders are encouraged to attend and give their opinions and comments. For more information about attending, please contact Shayda Naficy at 202.547.2800.
