Treaties & Standard Setting

International recognition of Treaties between Indigenous Nations and States was the first issue brought to the United Nations by IITC. Significant progress has been achieved through the UN Treaty Study (1999) and the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2016). IITC was a leader throughout the 40-year process of the UN Declaration’s development and adoption, and continues to focus on its full implementation, including through advancing new International Standards that affirm and incorporate the inherent and Treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples. IITC continues to work for the recognition and enforcement of Treaty rights to water, health, land, subsistence, Consent and Self-Determination and for effective bi-lateral, regional and international proceses to address and resolve Treaty violations.
Treaties between sovereign nations explicitly entail agreements which represent “the supreme law of the land” binding each party to an inviolate international relationship.
~ the Declaration of Continuing Independence, the Founding Document of the International Indian Treaty Council, June 1974
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
Online resources
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues web page
Pagina de web del El Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de la ONU
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Background paper, “Indigenous Peoples and Climate change”
18th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 22 April – 3 May, 2019
18 ° período de sesiones del FPCI, 22 abril – 3 mayo 2019
Previous Sessions of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
17th Session of the UNPFII, 16-27 April, 2018 / 17 perido de sesiones del FPCI, 16-27 de abril, 2018
16th session of the UNPFII, 2017 / 16 perido de sesiónes del FPCI, 2017
UNPFII 2016 Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Languages
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 15th session, 2016 // 15ava sesión del Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de la ONU, 2016
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 14th session, 2015 // 14o período de sesiones del Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de la ONU
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 13th session, 2014 // 13o período de sesiones del Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de la ONU, 2014
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 12th session, 2013 // 12o período de sesiones del Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de la ONU, 2013
Defending Treaties and Treaty Rights
Defending Treaties and Treaty Rights
Indigenous Peoples interventions, presentations, statements, reports, etc.
Visit & Review IITC Treaty Conferences & Resolutions here
TREATY RIGHTS RECOGNIZED BY THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES, IITC Press Release, April 22, 2012
The UN Treaty Study and Seminars
The UN Treaty Study and Seminars
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Online Resources
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas
“Our Voices, Our Rights, video on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”
Indigenous Peoples interventions, presentations, statements, reports, etc.
Business and Human Rights
Business and Human Rights
Online resources
Draft Treaty on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations (06.08.2020)
IITC Business and Human Rights Information Brief, 2017
Indigenous Peoples Guidebook for Free Prior Informed Consent And Corporation Standards
Guía de Pueblos Indígenas sobre el Consentimiento Libre, Previo, E Informado y Normas Empresariles
Indigenous Peoples interventions, presentations, statements, reports, etc.
The OAS American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The OAS American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Adopted June 15th, 2016
DECLARACIÓN AMERICANA SOBRE LOS DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS INDÍGENAS, Aprobada el 15 de junio de 2016
American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, AG/RES.2888 (XLVI-O/16), p. 167
Información sobre el Proyecto de Declaración Americana sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indigenas, Departamento de Derecho Internacional de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA)
IITC Response to final adoption of the OAS Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 05.19.2016
“Treaty rights recognized by the Organization of American States”, IITC press release April 22, 2012
International Repatriation
International Repatriation
Online Resources
Draft Agenda for EMRIP Workshop March 2020
UNESCO Policy on Engaging with Indigenous Peoples, Aug. 2017
Program – International Conference on Indigenous Peoples Rights to Cultural Heritage, Nov. 2017
Indigenous Peoples interventions, presentations, statements, reports, etc.
IITC Submission to Expert Seminar on International Repatriation, March 2020
Submission de CITI para el Seminario de Repatriacion internacional, Marzo 2020
IITC International Repatriation Information Update 2018
Boletín informativo de CITI – Repatriación Internacional 2018
IITC Repatriation Request to EMRIP, Feb. 2018
IITC EMRIP Submission on International Repatriation, March 2015
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Online Resources
Political Declaration of the SDG Summit 2019
Ministerial Declaration of the 2018 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
Major Groups (including Indigenous Peoples)
The “World We Want”: Peoples Empowerment in the Post 2015 Development Agenda
Indigenous Peoples interventions, presentations, statements, reports, etc.
IPMG Thematic Report, 2019
Press Release: United Nation Member States Agree on New Universal Development Agenda
Estados Miembros de la ONU logran un acuerdo sobre el Nuevo Programa Universal de Desarrollo
Right Energy Partnership
The Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples: 2018 Concept Note
Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples Brochure 2018
The UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations (1982-2006)
The UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations (1982-2006)
The UN General Assembly
The UN General Assembly
Enhanced Participation of Indigenous Peoples
On 8 September 2017 the General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/71/321 entitled Enhancing the Participation of Indigenous Peoples’ Representatives and Institutions in Meetings of Relevant United Nations Bodies on Issues Affecting Them. This resolution is a result of a process that began with a commitment by Member States, during the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 2014, to consider the participation of indigenous peoples at the United Nations. The process continues based on decisions made by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/71/321.
UN DESA: Participation of Indigenous Peoples at the UN
Dialogue meeting on the process of enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the UN, Quito, Ecuador, from 27 to 30 January 2020: Quito Outcome Document
General Assembly Related
Call for inputs for the UN Secretary-General’s report on “human rights and cultural diversity, 2019
The Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 Officially Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly