The United Nations Declaration on the

Foreword

The Declaration has already prompted concrete improvements. At the United Nations and in regional organisations, human rights concerns of indigenous peoples have become an integral part of debates ranging from environment to development issues. At the national level, the Declaration has inspired new legislation and mechanisms for dialogue with indigenous peoples.

Despite these positive signs, the promise of the Declaration is far from being universally fulfilled. As the findings of human rights mechanisms demonstrate, indigenous peoples in many parts of the world continue to be systematically discriminated and silenced. Rights of indigenous peoples are frequently the first victims of development activities in indigenous lands, often pursued with no regard to the principle of free, prior and informed consent and other guarantees of the Declaration.

The present publication – a joint initiative of my Office and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions – is part of our continuing efforts to fill these gaps, to promote the Declaration and to further its practical implementation. It aims at increased engagement by one key actor in ensuring that human rights, including indigenous peoples’ rights, become a reality: national human rights institutions. As examples contained in this publications show, national human rights institutions can play a crucial role in the protection and promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights. Through their legal status and mandate, they have the potential to be strong allies with, and advocates for, indigenous peoples. As conduits between the national, regional and international human rights spheres, national human rights institutions are uniquely placed to contribute to the genuine implementation of the Declaration and the progressive realization of the rights of indigenous peoples.

The first part of this publication introduces the background and context of the Declaration, while the second and third parts focus on measures which national human rights institutions can take at the national and international level to protect and promote indigenous peoples’ rights. The publication is accompanied by an audio-visual resource, which features interviews with indigenous peoples, representatives of national human rights institutions and international human rights experts.

I hope that this publication will foster a greater awareness of the rights of indigenous peoples among national human rights institutions, will guide and support them in this critical work and contribute to their capacity and commitment to work with indigenous peoples in order to realize the rights set out in the Declaration.