AFN: Draft DRIP Moves Forward

ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS

Transmitted by CNW Group on : June 29, 2006 16:08
Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Moves Forward
Despite Canadian Government Interference

OTTAWA, June 29 /CNW Telbec/ - Indigenous peoples and human rights organizations in Canada are welcoming the historic decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to back the adoption of the draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

However, these organizations also expressed their deep frustration and disappointment with the Canadian government's efforts to stall this much-needed and long overdue human rights instrument. Canada called the vote as a pre-emptive move against the Declaration's passage, but in the end Canada was one of only two countries to vote against the Declaration.

Instead, the Council voted to bring the proposed Declaration forward for possible adoption by the UN General Assembly later this year. The vote was 30 in favour and 2 against (with 12 abstentions and 3 absent).

"Canada's opposition to the Declaration has soured the first meeting of the Human Rights Council," says Beverly Jacobs, President of the Native Women's Association of Canada. "The Council was created in the hope that states would set aside domestic considerations and work impartially to advance the human rights of all. It's a bitter disappointment that Canada would mar the very first session by openly pursuing a dubious domestic agenda."

The Canadian government was an active participant in the Working Group that drafted the current text and, in recent years, had a played a critical role in building state support for the principles of the draft Declaration. The current government has tried to explain its sudden opposition by claiming that some provisions of the Declaration are incompatible with Canadian law. It has not provided any substantiation of this claim. Canada had failed also in an earlier attempt to bring forward a counter-resolution to have the decision on the Declaration delayed so it could be re-opened for further negotiation. All of these moves damage Canada's international reputation as a leader in Indigenous and human rights.

Indigenous peoples' organizations that have participated in the Working Group point out that not only is the Declaration a non-binding, aspirational statement that would not override any domestic laws, it also contains specific assurances, introduced by Canada, that its provisions must be interpreted in a fair and balanced manner that respects basic principles of human rights, democratic society and good government.

"We are outraged that Canada would demonstrate such bad faith in opposing a text that it helped write," says Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada "It is even more astounding that Canada would then try to persuade other states that another round of negotiations is needed. It was fortunate - though embarrassing for all Canadians - that Canada quickly found itself isolated on a Council that was prepared to move forward with a principled defence of Indigenous peoples' human rights."

Strong international support for the Declaration is an important step forward in countering the widespread racism and discrimination that threatens the survival and well-being of Indigenous peoples worldwide. The draft Declaration clearly affirms that Indigenous peoples must not be arbitrarily denied the right of self-determination, which is recognized in international law as a universal right of all peoples. The Declaration also affirms diverse rights regarding lands, territories and resources that are essential to the cultural identities of Indigenous peoples and the fulfillment of their basic human rights.

"This is an historic day for Indigenous peoples around the globe," said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine. "We are grateful that the Council has recognized the importance and urgency of moving ahead with human rights protections for Indigenous peoples. It is very unfortunate that in trying to stand in the way of the Declaration, Canada has done so much harm to its credibility and influence on a Council that it worked so hard to create."

The Declaration has been under development for more than two decades. The current proposal, which emerged from an 11-year-long Working Group process, has been endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People and by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It has also been supported by a wide range of states worldwide, including states such as Norway and Denmark which, like Canada, have a history of negotiation and treaty-making with Indigenous peoples.

Source: Native News North
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Archived: Fri Jun 30, 2006 6:43 pm

UN overrides Canada over native rights

UN overrides Canada over native rights

Associated Press
Published: Thursday, June 29, 2006

GENEVA -- The new UN Human Rights Council on Thursday overrode Canadian and Russian objections and passed a declaration to protect the rights of native peoples around the world, including an assertion that they have a possible right to restitution for land and resources taken from them.

By 30-2 vote, the body approved the declaration that said indigenous people should be free from discrimination and that they have a right "to consider themselves different and to be respected as such." A dozen countries abstained and three were absent.

A coalition of indigenous people who had been campaigning heavily in favour of passage had complained that Canada, a former supporter of the declaration, had switched sides after the Conservative party ousted the Liberals earlier this year.

They said Canada thus joined the United States, Australia and New Zealand -- all countries with significant native populations -- in opposing the declaration. The U.S., Australia and New Zealand, however, have no vote because they are not members of the 47-nation council, which began its first session last week.

The council replaced the widely discredited 53-country UN Human Rights Commission.

© Associated Press 2006

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Archived: Thu Jun 29, 2006 7:57 pm

Canada opposes UN

Canada opposes UN aboriginal treaty

Last Updated Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:28:01 EDT
CBC News

Canada is threatening to scuttle a United Nations declaration that would enshrine the rights of aboriginal people worldwide.

The United Nation's Human Rights Council in Geneva is expected to hold a vote on the treaty before the end of the month, but the Conservative government is one of several that feels the language is too all-encompassing.

Other nations opposing the declaration also have significant aboriginal populations - for example, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

"It contains provisions that are inconsistent with the Canadian Charter," said Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jim Prentice said of the deal. "It contains provisions that are inconsistent with the Constitution Act of 1982. It's quite inconsistent with land-claims policies under which Canada negotiates claims."

Prentice said the document would hinder land-claims talks with some aboriginal bands on handing over rights to exploit resources. He said Canada would vote against the document if it remained unchanged.

The Assembly of First Nations and Amnesty International were quick to criticize the government for delaying a document they said has already taken 20 years to craft.

"We feel that there's been sufficient discussion, and let's get on with the declaration and let's have the international community acknowledge the rights of the indigenous peoples," said Agnes Toulouse, Ontario Regional Chief.

The declaration is not legally binding, but rather, would be a symbolic gesture that shows countries support the sovereign rights of aboriginal people.

In a joint statement last month, the United States, Australia and New Zealand rejected the assertion that aboriginal people have the right to "self-determination," saying it was inconsistent with international law.

Source

Archived: Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:29 pm

Canada said stalling declaration

Canada said stalling aboriginal rights declaration

Jun. 19, 2006
SYLVAIN LAROCQUE
CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL -- Canada has teamed with the United States and Australia to stop the United Nations from passing a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, says Amnesty International.

The human rights group, along with opposition parties, accused the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday of stalling the declaration along with these other nations.

It's been twenty years that the international community has been working on a declaration on aboriginal rights," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.

"It's difficult to imagine an important issue of human rights that the governments of the world have taken more time to resolve," Neve said Monday. "The problem of the human rights of indigenous peoples is urgent," said Angus Toulouse, president of the Assembly of First Nations.

"It's not necessary for the rights of these people to come in second place in order to please the United States, New Zealand and Australia." Last month, representatives of those three countries sent out a joint statement calling the declaration "profoundly imperfect."

The UN declaration would guarantee "auto-determination" for indigenous peoples, giving them the right to reclaim traditional territory and refuse military activity upon traditional lands.

Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said the declaration contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, when it comes to aboriginal land claims, as well federal laws on national defence.

"The text is clearly in need of work," Prentice said.

But "we support the adoption of a declaration on the rights of aboriginal peoples and we're working on that."

The UN's new council on human rights will consider the declaration at a meeting that began Monday and will last through to June 30.

First Nations and Amnesty International hope the council adopts the declaration. If they do, the text could be put to the general assembly of the United Nations at their next meeting in September.

If Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand succeed in convincing the council not to adopt the law this time around, First Nations groups said they fear it will never happen.

At the beginning of the month, a House of Commons committee adopted a Bloc Quebecois motion demanding Ottawa support the declaration.

On Monday, Liberal MP Anita Neville chided the Conservatives for abandoning the leadership shown by the Liberals, who she said supported the motion.

Prentice responded by saying that "no Canadian government ever supported" the declaration.

Source

Archived: Tue Jun 20, 2006 8:31 pm

Six Nations Land: A View

Six Nations Land: A View From Below And To The Left

May 14, 2006
Stewart Steinhauer

First the facts: Canada is a settler state located in the northern portion of Turtle Island, formed out of two European colonies established here in the seventeenth century, one by Great Britain and one by France. These colonies were established on the basis of the Doctrine Of Discovery, itself an outgrowth of the European decision to de-construct the original Peoples of Turtle Island as both individual human beings, and as collections of human beings living together in rule of law type societies, and to re-construct these erased people and Peoples as a monolithic dependent population known henceforth as "Indians," "Natives," and "Aborigines," in need of civilizing.

Modern Canadians will say: "What do the actions of my ancestors in the seventeenth century have to do with me today?"

If modern indigenous people and Peoples weren't living trapped inside nations based on the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal doctrine now routinely overturned wherever it comes to trial in the international arena, living tortured lives as "Indians", "Natives", and "Aborigines", while modern Canadians, and modern euro-ancestry citizens of every other nation on Turtle Island and in other places around the globe, for instance Australia and New Zealand, enjoy the highest standard of living in the world, along, of course, with Western Europe, itself, on wealth produced specifically from the riches of the lands that they occupy by force of arms, not law, then one could logically say: "Why, nothing at all."

This brings us to the Haldimand Tract in southern Ontario, running from the Grand River's mouth on the northern shore of Lake Erie in a twelve mile wide swath up the Grand River to its headwater basin. In current mainstream discourse, the Six Nations land dispute is framed in the context of "Indian land claims." Reports mention up to 29 separate claims being made by Six Nations against the Crown's assertion of title. The Federal Government of Canada and the Provincial Government of Ontario are establishing a panel to settle these "Indian land claims."

The reality obscured by three unrelenting centuries of the European obsession with the manufacture of "Indians" is that, at least in law, it is the federal and provincial governments of Canada who are trying to make a claim to land, a claim based on the Doctrine of Discovery. The same objection raised at the Henco development site by Six Nations people can be legally raised, by various indigenous Peoples, throughout the entire territory currently called Canada. Instead of a panel whose every chair is occupied by a federal or provincial representative, either pale-faced or brown, seeking resolution to "Indian land claims", there should be a panel of non-European, non-Canadian adjudicators seeking resolution to "Canadian land claims".

For instance, a panel made up of well-respected international figures like Rigoberta Menchu from Guatemala, Arundahti Roy from India, Linda Smith from New Zealand, and so on across Africa and Asia, would be able to listen to Canada's claims with an open mind and a willing heart. It's not a question of whether the indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island want to share the land with settler populations from around the globe. If that were the case, then there would be no settler nations present on Turtle Island, just as there are no settler nations present in China. The seventeenth century European decision to manufacture "Indians" was based on the European observations of the sixteenth century, specifically that the people and Peoples of Turtle Island, while fierce in protection of their way of life, were committed to rule of law societies rather than rule of force societies, widely held sharing as a core value, and particularly eschewed murder as a dispute resolution mechanism.

At Six Nations we see the outline of this older form of society still intact in spite of three century's worth of investment by first European, now Canadian interests into the complete elimination of this distinct society. Twice, European colonial forces attempted a total eradication of Six Nations Peoples, at one point reducing the Six Nations Confederacy population to 1% of its former count. To the Western world's surprise, a delegation from Kanawake arrived at the doorsteps of the newly formed League of Nations, in 1924, asking for admittance to the organization modeled on the Six Nations Confederacy. Canada's response was to send an armed force of RCMP to Kanawake to arrest the Longhouse leaders, impose an Indian Act-recognized Chief and Council system, and amend the Indian act to make it illegal for Indian Bands to hire Canadian lawyers to defend their interest in Canadian or other courts.

Astonishingly, in 2006, the Six Nations Confederacy still exists. The people have their language, their constitution, in English called the Great Law of Peace, their original peaceful co-existence agreement with Europeans, the Two Row Wampum Belt agreement, an understanding of their territorial boundaries, and of their way of life based in a Clan Mother system that recognizes women as the title-holders of the land, protecting it for the "faces to come" who are the true owners. The Six Nations Confederacy call themselves the Eastern Door People. They are strategically located on the entrance to the northern portion of Turtle Island. Passing through their territory one can travel to the geographical center of Turtle Island by water. Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Boston, and New York are all located on Six Nations Confederacy lands.

The Six Nations Confederacy was part way through a unification process using the Great Law of Peace, which by the way, is not only the basis of first the League of Nations and now the United Nations, but also of modern democracy. The colonial experience is just a hiccup in this unification process. It's possible that, in spite of several hundred years of genocide, the Six Nations may wish to extend an invitation to Canada to join in unity under the Great Law of Peace. Canada could become a nation in law, could even possibly become a nation of peace. Modern Canadians could possibly enter into a new relationship with the original human inhabitants of the northern portion of Turtle Island, a relationship that the original Peoples have been patiently waiting for, for hundreds of years.

Lastly, the facts: The Six Nations Confederacy cannot be eradicated by any means. The offer to join them under the Great Law of Peace will probably remain on the table. Canadians can accept the offer now, or continue with their attempted eradication for another unknown amount of time. As a modern Canadian, what would you like to choose?

Source

Archived: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:34 am