WORLD CONFERENCE ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 2014
The World Conference on Indigenous Peoples will be held in 2014 as a high-level plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The main objective of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples is to share perspectives and best practices on the realisation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and to pursue the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The World Conference will compel member states, including Australia, to ratify the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to implement national domestic legislation as a result. The conference will also create a framework for the development of charters and treaties with and between Indigenous Peoples.
In order to facilitate Indigenous peoples’ preparations for the World Conference, the Sami Parliament of Norway extended an invitation to Indigenous Peoples to attend a Global Preparatory Indigenous Peoples’ Conference, which was held in Alta, Norway in June 2013.
The Alta Conference delivered a series of outcomes including the recommendation that States; immediately implement all rights consistent with the UN Charter, the Declaration and Treaties and agreements with Indigenous Peoples; affirm the protection of sacred places, sites and cultural landscapes, including lands taken without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples; cease the removal of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands and territories; uphold the right of self determination of Indigenous Peoples to refuse mining, resource extraction, and ‘development’; and act against climate change and the continued use of fossil fuels. States are also recommended to adopt policies to guarantee food sovereignty and the right to water and clean air for Indigenous Peoples as well as the right to transmit Indigenous knowledge to Indigenous youth. The Conference also recommends the creation of a new UN body to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples; revision of World Heritage conventions to include the rights of Indigenous Peoples; and establish direct participation in the UN through Indigenous People’s own governments, traditional councils and authorities.
In order to facilitate Indigenous peoples’ preparations for the World Conference, the Sami Parliament of Norway extended an invitation to Indigenous Peoples to attend a Global Preparatory Indigenous Peoples’ Conference, which was held in Alta, Norway in June 2013.
The Alta Conference delivered a series of outcomes including the recommendation that States; immediately implement all rights consistent with the UN Charter, the Declaration and Treaties and agreements with Indigenous Peoples; affirm the protection of sacred places, sites and cultural landscapes, including lands taken without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples; cease the removal of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands and territories; uphold the right of self determination of Indigenous Peoples to refuse mining, resource extraction, and ‘development’; and act against climate change and the continued use of fossil fuels. States are also recommended to adopt policies to guarantee food sovereignty and the right to water and clean air for Indigenous Peoples as well as the right to transmit Indigenous knowledge to Indigenous youth. The Conference also recommends the creation of a new UN body to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples; revision of World Heritage conventions to include the rights of Indigenous Peoples; and establish direct participation in the UN through Indigenous People’s own governments, traditional councils and authorities.
Indigenous Peoples make up more than 5 percent of the world’s population; some 370 million people. The Nyoongar Tent Embassy’s work to develop a framework, charter, and treaty will prepare the Nyoongar Sovereign Peoples to join this international movement and participate in the 2014 World Conference.
