International Decade of the World's Indigenous People

A/RES/53/129No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 107Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, published in 1999.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 1994–2004

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/58/158

2004A/RES/58/158International Decade of the World's Indigenous PeopleLatestCompare with previous version
2003A/RES/57/192International Decade of the World's Indigenous PeopleCompare with previous version
2002A/RES/56/140International Decade of the World's Indigenous PeopleCompare with previous version
2001A/RES/55/80International Decade of the World's Indigenous PeopleCompare with previous version
2000A/RES/54/150International Decade of the World's Indigenous PeopleCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

14 topics

Budget Contributions Community Participation Conferences Declarations Development Assistance Educational Institutions Focal Points Higher Education Indigenous Peoples Information Dissemination Institutional Machinery International Decades Programme Evaluation Trust Funds

What does this mandate say?

26 operative paragraphs

Affirms its conviction of the value and diversity of the cultures and forms of social organization of indigenous people and its conviction that the development of indigenous people within their countries will contribute to the socio-economic, cultural and environmental advancement of all the countries of the world;

Emphasizes the importance of strengthening the human and institutional capacity of indigenous people to develop their own solutions to their problems, recommends for these purposes that the United Nations University, as a follow-up to the planned workshop for research and higher education institutions, as outlined in Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1997/32 of 11 April 1997 and 1998/13 of 9 April 1998, consider the possibility of sponsoring, in each region, one or more existing institutions of higher education as centres of excellence and the diffusion of expertise, inter alia, by conducting relevant studies, and invites the Commission to recommend appropriate means of implementation;

Notes that the programme of activities of the Decade may be reviewed and updated throughout the Decade and that, at the mid-point of the Decade in 1999, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly should review the results of the activities in order to identify obstacles to the achievement of the goals of the Decade and to recommend solutions for overcoming such obstacles;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as coordinator for the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People:

To continue to promote the objectives of the Decade, taking into account, in the fulfilment of her functions, the special concerns of indigenous people;

To proceed with the organization, from within existing resources and voluntary contributions, of the workshop for research and higher education institutions focusing on indigenous issues in education, in consultation with indigenous people and the relevant United Nations bodies, which the Government of Costa Rica has offered to host in 1999;

To give due regard to the dissemination, from within existing resources and voluntary contributions, of information on the situation, cultures, languages, rights and aspirations of indigenous people and, in that context, to consider the possibility of organizing projects, special events, exhibitions and other activities targeting the public, in particular young people;

To submit, through the Secretary-General, an annual report to the General Assembly on the implementation of the programme of activities of the Decade;

Reaffirms the adoption of a declaration on the rights of indigenous people as a major objective of the Decade, and underlines the importance of effective participation by indigenous representatives in the open-ended inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights charged with elaborating a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people, established pursuant to Commission resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995;

Also reaffirms, among the objectives of the Decade listed in the programme of activities, the consideration of the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people in the United Nations system;

Urges Governments to participate actively in the open-ended inter-sessional ad hoc working group that the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1998/20 of 9 April 19984 decided to establish from within existing overall United Nations resources, which is to meet for five working days prior to the fifty-fifth session of the Commission to elaborate and consider further proposals for the possible establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people in the United Nations system;

Encourages Governments to support the Decade by:

Preparing relevant programmes, plans and reports in relation to the Decade, in consultation with indigenous people;

Seeking means, in consultation with indigenous people, of giving indigenous people greater responsibility for their own affairs and an effective voice in decisions on matters that affect them;

Establishing national committees or other mechanisms involving indigenous people to ensure that the objectives and activities of the Decade are planned and implemented on the basis of full partnership with indigenous people;

Contributing to the United Nations Trust Fund for the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People;

Contributing, together with other donors, to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations in order to assist indigenous representatives in participating in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights, the open-ended inter-sessional working group charged with elaborating a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people and the open-ended inter-sessional ad hoc working group charged with elaborating and considering further proposals for the possible establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people in the United Nations system;

Considering contributing, as appropriate, to the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean, in support of the goals of the Decade;

Identifying resources for activities designed to implement the goals of the Decade, in cooperation with indigenous people and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

Invites United Nations financial and developmental institutions, operational programmes and the specialized agencies, in accordance with the existing procedures of their governing bodies:

To give increased priority and resources to improving the conditions of indigenous people, with particular emphasis on the needs of those people in developing countries, including through the preparation of specific programmes of action for the implementation of the goals of the Decade, within their areas of competence;

To launch special projects, through appropriate channels and in cooperation with indigenous people, to strengthen their community-level initiatives and to facilitate the exchange of information and expertise among indigenous people and other relevant experts;

To designate focal points for coordination of activities related to the Decade with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

and commends those institutions, programmes and agencies that have already done so;

Recommends that the Secretary-General ensure coordinated follow-up to the recommendations concerning indigenous people of relevant world conferences, namely, the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992, the International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994, the Fourth World Conference on Women, held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995, and the World Summit for Social Development, held at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit, through the Secretary-General, a report on the implementation of the programme of activities of the Decade to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People”.

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What does this mandate say?

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