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About the Class
This is a interactive learning experence where we will be exploring International Law and also Indigenous Rights in Practice.
This is not a United Nations Site and we don't work for the United Nations or any government. We are all Indigenous People and this class is about Indigenous Rights, why we report them and how to Report violations.
The Indigenous Reporting System
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is a “Declaration” not a law and so nobody is going to be arrested, tried in a Court of Law and receive a sentence for violating some provision in the Declaration. Nevertheless, there are many instances where Indigenous People and Tribes are not treated as equals in the Nations wherein they are Indigenous. Too often they are treated as second class Citizens and not afforded the basic rights and protections they deserve. With this in mind the Indigenous Reporting System has been developed to meet several needs as follows:
1) To help in stopping violence and death of Indigenous People by those that would hurt or kill Indigenous People for any number of reasons. These reasons could include the forceful eviction of Indigenous People from their native lands so that timber, can be taken, or minerals mined, or petroleum pumped from beneath Indigenous Lands. I t may be racially or religiously motivated, or simply the greed of the developer who sees the Indigenous lands as free for the taking. Reporting allows UNPFII and the Rapporteurs to focus public attention on a specific people and a specific region. Further, it gets factual information to the highest levels of Government where real change can begin.
2) Reporting is the only way to measure the impact of the Declaration on the lives of Indigenous people. This can be useful to assess how effective the information campaign to bring the knowledge of the Declaration to Governments, be they National, Regional, County, Local and City Governments. Reporting also tells us where UNPFII and its partners, the Indigenous Peoples Organizations, are doing a good job of educating the Governments and the People therein as to what is appropriate in working with Indigenous People
3) Reporting is important to Indigenous People where National law enforcement has the tools to protect Indigenous Populations using existing laws. Often local law enforcement will act when the National or International community turns the spotlight on crimes against Indigenous People. Reporting also permits National Legislatures to enact domestic laws to protect Indigenous people living within their borders.
We have used real Indigenous Rights violations in the sample forms that follow.
Thank you
Language of instruction:
English
Keywords: indigenous people, unpfii, minorities, human rights
