Information| links

please report any broken links or other errors to › want to come back later?  click here to add this page to your bookmarks / favourites.

Having trouble finding something? Try ENIAR's search. It comes from Google, which indexes once a month and searches all the text — so you can find all but the most recent pages via search. See also articles + documents| history + culture and multimedia clippings

info for aborigines on European campaigning | United Nations

The United Nations - departments and agencies

ECOSOC - UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
	Working Group on Indigenous Populations
OHCHR - OFFICE OF THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
	United Nations Guide for Indigenous Peoples The United Nations began its first formal work on the issues of indigenous people  in 1982 with the establishment of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations Anyone may bring a human rights problem to the attention of the United Nations. UN fact sheets provide information on Individual Human Rights complaints to the United Nations. Communications / Complaints Procedures Hotline for Reporting Human Rights Violations Field Presences United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations The Special Rapporteur on Indigenous issues. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism's report on Australia 26 February 2002 to the UN Commission on Human Rights. An overview of the Special Rapporteur's report by HREOC Working Group on Indigenous Populations (UNWGIP). United Nations Draft Declaration on Rights of Indigenous People (An Analysis of the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples can be found at ATSIC). UN Committee for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) reports on the impact of mandatory sentencing on Aboriginal people and native title legislation. International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples The International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995 - 2004) was proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 48/163 of 21 December 1993 with the main objective of strengthening international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education and health. The theme for the Decade is "Indigenous people: partnership in action". In the same resolution, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to appoint the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights as the Coordinator of the Decade and established the Voluntary Fund for the Decade to assist the funding of projects and programmes which promote the goals of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. In its resolution 52/108, the General Assembly appointed the High Commissioner for Human Rights as Coordinator of the Decade. In its resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994, the General Assembly adopted the short-term program of activities for 1995. The comprehensive program of activities was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 50/157 of 21 December 1995. The General Assembly also authorized the establishment of the Voluntary Fund for the International Decade for the purpose of financing projects and programmes during the Decade. A Summary of United Nations Agreements on Human Rights Universal Declaration of Human Rights Treaty Text: Overview of the 19 Articles 1948 Genocide Convention December 9, 2003 was the 55th anniversary of the approval of the Genocide Convention by the United Nations General Assembly. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was approved the following day. Translations: Authentic texts and Translations in 35 Languages. Legal definition: A detailed discussion of the crime. See also the Elements of the crime of genocide. The First 50 Years, 1948-1998 A Report by Wm. Schabas. Ratification Status: 135 Nations are State parties; 52 Nations are NOT, including Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria. Universal Declaration on Linguistic Rights Convention on Biological Diversity Article 8(j): Traditional Knowledge, Innovations and Practices Traditional knowledge refers to the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities around the world. The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance: Durban, South Africa, September 2001. Indigenous Fellowship Programme Vacancies Internships
SUB-TOPICS
UNDP - UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
	The UNDP provides a range of documents relevant to UNDP and its engagement with indigenous peoples. It includes UNDP reports, CSOPP's case studies documenting best practices, as well as the international conferences, conventions and declarations of most significance to indigenous peoples and their engagement with the international community. Project Matrix Indigenous Peoples -site map Indigenous Knowledge Programme UNDP Guidelines for Support Indigenous Peoples Resource Centre - Contacts UNDP - Contact Us UNDP - Country Office Web Sites Civil Society Organizatons and Participation Programme Jobs
THE WORLD BANK
	Indigenous Peoples Indigenous Knowledge Initiative Indigenous Peoples' Fund Indigenous Peoples : Development Gateway Indigenous Peoples : Contact Us Advisory Services World Bank - Contact Us & Locations World Bank - Ask Us Contacts E-mail Feedback Careers at the World Bank
UNESCO - UN EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
	Human Rights- Tolerance International Decade of the World's Indigenous People  The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has proposed a World Heritage Indigenous Peoples Council of Experts (WHIPCOE) made up of Indigenous Peoples from World Heritage Areas. The United Nations Environment Program The main document that came out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro Agenda 21: Principle 22 recognizes that indigenous peoples have a vital role to play in environmental management and development because of their traditional knowledge and practices. Write to us- International Decade of the World's Indigenous People UNESCO Contacts Recruitment at UNESCO Internships
WIPO - WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
	The WIPO has undertaken a Roundtable on Intellectual Property and Indigenous Peoples. Of interest to Indigenous People may be the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge, Innovations and Creativity Contact Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge Contact WIPO Careers & Recruitment Procurement
ILO - INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION
	The ILO Convention No.169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples was adopted at the International Labour Conference (Geneva, June, 1989). Australia to date has not ratified this convention. Indigenous and Tribal Peoples: A Guide to ILO Convention No. 169 It is notable that, in spite of the relatively slow rate of ratifications, this Convention has had significant influence on domestic policies and programmes, as well as the policy guidelines of several funding agencies. This shows that, to induce changes in the perception of the problems and the ways to solve them, ratification, though desirable and, in the long term, necessary, is not indispensable in the short and medium term. Socal Protection Indigenous Peoples Social Protection Centre : Contact Information ILO Directory Small Enterprise Development Employment Opportunities

|| click to go to the top of this page

 clippings

• Black Voice catches ear of world
  May 23, 2004 - The initiative by Aboriginal writer, director and musician Richard Frankland to form a political party for indigenous Australians has attracted international attention.
• If it's good enough for Iraq why not us - Damaging Australia's Reputation
  21 May 2004 - Statement from UN by ATSIC NSW Metropolitan Zone Commissioner Cliff Foley - I am dumbfounded that the Australian Government can so strongly support the imposition of a democratic model on the people of Iraq, while virtually at the same time using strongarm tactics to take an equally democratic model away from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the basis for determining indigenous representation at the national and international levels.
• UN told government backward on indigenous issues
  21 May 2004 - A senior Aboriginal leader has used a United Nations meeting in New York to condemn the policies of the federal government.
• Federal Government Stooge Misleads UN
  14 May 2004 - Statement by ATSIC Northern Territory Central Zone Commissioner Alison Anderson - On behalf of the ATSIC Board of Commissioners I would like to register my disgust at the misleading claims and distorted facts presented to the United Nations this week by an Indigenous woman employed by the Federal Government. The government-appointed Chairperson of the Indigenous Land Corporation, Ms Shirley McPherson had absolutely no right to speak on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at the annual UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
• UN Forum: Indigenous Women Need Rights, Health Care
  May 11, 2004 - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Native women die earlier, have more children and are more frequently attacked by the men in and out of their community, according to delegates attending a U.N. forum on indigenous people.
• UN Secretary-General's address to the opening of third session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
  10 May 2004 - New York - I welcome you all to the Third Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and offer a special welcome to the indigenous women of the world, who are the special theme of this Session.
• Annan calls for solidarity and respect as UN indigenous peoples forum opens
  10 May 2004 – With native peoples worldwide continuing to encounter systemic prejudice and discrimination, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the international community to confront such ill-will head on, in a spirit of solidarity and respect, to help indigenous peoples overcome a history of inequality.
• UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
  10 May 2004 - Statement by Ms Shirley McPherson, Chairperson of the Indigenous Land Corporation on behalf of the Australian Delegation - The special theme of this, the third session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, is devoted to Indigenous Women, and was prompted by a recognition of the significant contributions made by those women to their communities and of the special challenges that they face. As an Indigenous Australian woman it gives me great pleasure to address the forum on behalf of the Australian government.
  • UN Addressed by Two Indigenous Australian Women
• Paper Trail Grows at U.N. Indigenous Forum
  May 8 2004 - MONTREAL (IPS) - The lengthy list of reports submitted to the only full-time United Nations body dedicated to indigenous peoples prior to its 2004 session is a sign of its success, say some observers. For others, it is a bad omen.
• International Dance Day - Year 2004 - International Dance Day Message
  29 April 2004 -International Theatre Institute/UNESCO - Stephen Page: Dance is the original most ancient form of human expression. Through the body and physical language, dance has a powerful connection with the emotional and spiritual worlds.
• UN to hear Aboriginal plight
  28 April 2004 - Aboriginal health workers will tell the world just how bad indigenous health services are in Australia at a meeting with the United Nations next month. The chairman of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) Tony McCartney said the group would raise its concerns about indigenous health during a major presentation to a UN sub-committee in May.
• Life of Aborigines second worst on earth
  April 28, 2004 - The quality of life of Australia's Aborigines is the second worst on the planet, according to a Canadian study of 100 countries. Only China performed worse, according to a United Nations index that measures human development.
• UN human rights commission extends mandate of expert on indigenous rights
  21 April 2004 – UN News - The mandate of the United Nations human rights expert who records and tries to help correct violations of the rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people has been renewed for another three years by the UN Commission on Human Rights.
• Indigenous Peoples and the Creation of an Inclusive International Legal System
  14 January 2004 - Carnegie Council - Our guest, John Scott, focuses on a human rights-based approach to social justice for aboriginal and indigenous peoples. He has worked as a high school teacher, an aboriginal educational advisor, an indigenous policy officer, a university lecturer, and a senior manager at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. He has a particular interest in biodiversity and the protection of traditional knowledge.
• Australian Un human rights chair 'a shame', says Aborigine
  January 7, 2004 - How can a racist country like Australia have a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Commission, much less chair it ? That's the question burning the gut of Aboriginal activist Michael Anderson.

• Yorta Yorta to take title case to UN
  13 September 13, 2003 - The Yorta Yorta people of Victoria and NSW are preparing to lodge a complaint with the United Nations, claiming that the High Court's rejection of their native title bid denied them their inherent cultural rights.
• Return of the native
  September 1 2003 - New Humanist (UK) - On Human Rights Day 1992, the United Nations proclaimed an International Year of the World’s Indigenous People. A Decade for Indigenous Peoples was subsequently launched, to run from 1995 to 2004, and a Forum of Indigenous Peoples established. The inaugural meeting of the Forum, held in Geneva in 1996, was unfortunately disrupted by gatecrashers. A self–styled delegation of South African Boers turned up and demanded to be allowed to participate on the grounds that they too were indigenous people, and that their traditional culture was under threat from the new African National Congress government. They were unceremoniously ejected, and no doubt their motives were far from pure, but the drama might usefully have drawn attention to the difficultyof defining and identifying Indigenous People.
• Second Session of Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Opens in New York
  May 17, 2003 - Cultural Survival - Over 1,500 delegates converged on the New York headquarters of the United Nations this week for the second session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Indigenous representatives, representatives of member states, and officials from international institutions such as the World Bank and the World Trade Organization met daily in Conference Room Two for six hours each day to wrestle with the issues of economic and social development, the environment and the methods of work of the Forum itself.
• In Their Words – Voices from the Second Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
  May 17, 2003 - Cultural Survival - Below are excerpts from some statements made in the first few days of the second session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
• As Permanent Forum Meets Down the Hall, Fake Didgeridoos Removed from Shelves at UN Gift Shop
  May 17, 2003 - Cultural Survival - The United Nations gift shop at its headquarters in New York is a wondrous affair, with magnificent artifacts drawn from the four corners of the globe. Divided into small sections, we see exquisite wood carvings from Ghana, dazzling Turkish ceramics, beautifully crafted dolls from China, and other representative works of member nations. Then in one corner, near some toy Koalas made in China, is a rack containing nine ‘Australian’ didgeridoos. Close inspection shows that they are all manufactured in Indonesia.
• Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues takes center stage at United Nations
  May 9, 2003 - NEW YORK - On May 12, indigenous nations and supporters will gather at United Nations headquarters in New York for the second session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. With several hundred million indigenous people in the world, the forum was created to address issues indigenous peoples around the world are facing.
  • Speech by ATSIC Charman, Geoff Clark to Permanent Forum
• Australia to stand firm over 'racist' sign
  26 April 2003 - The Independent (UK) - Australian government is preparing to flout a demand by the United Nations for it to intervene to remove the word "nigger" from a sign on a sports stadium in Queensland.
• Interview with Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network
  March 15, 2003 - In Motion Magazine (US) - Tom Goldtooth "is the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, a network of over 250 indigenous communities in North America. That includes Canada, the U.S. and some in Mexico. We also network with the indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica as well as South America and some in Africa." This interview was conducted during the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

• Stand-off on indigenous rights
  December 26 2002 - Australia is the sole remaining country opposing the right of indigenous people to "self-determination" in United Nations negotiations towards an international statement of indigenous rights.
• International Human Rights day
  10 December 2002 - Statement by representatives of Indigenous Peoples, nations and organizations meeting in Geneva.
• The Kimberley Declaration
  International Indigenous Peoples Summit on Sustainable Development, Khoi-San Territory, Kimberley, South Africa
  20-23 August 2002 - "We the Indigenous Peoples of the World assembled here reaffirm the Kari-Oca Declaration and the Indigenous Peoples' Earth Charter. We again reaffirm our previous declarations on human and environmental sustainability."
• Indigenous people get voice
  May 14, 2002 - United Nations: The world's indigenous peoples have held their first official forum, demanding the right to collective ownership of land and payment for their medicinal knowledge.
• Address to the first session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
  13 May 2002 - United Nations Deputy Secretary-General - The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is a milestone in the struggle of thousands of indigenous peoples to win recognition of their rights and identities. We should give credit first and foremost to indigenous peoples themselves for coming together behind the idea of a Forum. Next, the Economic and Social Council - and in particular those members that long argued for greater participation of indigenous peoples in the United Nations -- deserves congratulations for its visionary decision to establish the Forum. And last but not least, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and her staff deserve praise for their hard work.
• Tim to tell World about Aboriginal issues
  May 1, 2002 - Canberra student Tim Goodwin will be taking indigenous youth issues to the world next week when he goes to New York to address the United Nations special session on children.
• Human Rights in Contemporary Australia
  17 November 2001 - Speech by Dr Sev Ozdowski at the United Nations Association of Australia - Tasmanian Branch - Human Rights Seminar: Human Rights from the Perspective of Individual, Collective and Corporate Responsibilities.
  
• UN Report on racism should be taken seriously
  March 27, 2002 - HREOC - Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner... Dr William Jonas, called on the Federal Government to treat seriously the concerns raised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism in his report on Australia to the UN Commission on Human Rights.

• Human Rights in Contemporary Australia
  17 November 2001 - Speech: Dr Sev Ozdowsk - I am delighted to be invited to speak today at the Tasmanian Branch of the United Nations Association of Australia's Human Rights Seminar. Despite its rather grand title, this presentation will be a relatively modest attempt to set out the key challenges for human rights in Australia as I see them at the outset of my term as Human Rights Commissioner. Let us begin with a quick survey of the state of human rights internationally and in Australia today.
• Aborigines' international hero unites warring parties
  August 10, 2001 - "Jack Beetson fights for the stolen generations," says the TV clip to be shown around the world about the Aboriginal leader the United Nations has named as one of only 12 Unsung Heroes.

• We ignore UN rights report at our peril
  December 29, 2000 - Australia must recognise the increasing links between international trade and human rights, writes Angela Ward (Associate Professor in International Law at Essex University, and junior counsel to Cherie Booth, QC).
• Australia is the only developed country whose government has been condemned as racist by the United Nations
  13 October 2000 - By John Pilger. There is no doubting the efficiency of the Sydney Olympics, the friendliness of the people, the beauty of the setting; but there was a political façade. Soon after the Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman won her gold medal, the cabinet of John Howard’s government met in Canberra to mount yet another attack on her people by planning to change the Land Rights Act.
• UN reports finds Australian aborigines disadvantaged
  September 1, 2000 - BBC - A United Nations report says that Australia's Aboriginal people continue to be disadvantaged in employment, housing, health and education.
• Facing the wrong way on human rights
  July 31, 2000 - Australia is displaying increasing ambivalence towards the international human rights regime. Such ambivalence has been manifest in tardiness in complying with international reporting obligations and the rejection of a series of adverse findings by independent UN bodies.
• UN censures treatment of aborigines
  July 31, 2000 - Guardian Unlimited - Australia has come under renewed fire from the United Nations for the way it treats its Aboriginal population.
• Prime Minister's disregard of human rights obligations shocks A.I.
  February 18, 2000 - Amnesty International (UK) - In an ironic coincidence, the United Nations Secretary General's praise for Australia's assistance to East Timor today contrasts with the Australian Prime Minister's refusal to accept that universal human rights standards equally apply to his own country...

• Australian Government's dismissal of UN criticism undermines hard-earned credibility in human rights diplomacy
  March 19, 1999 - Amnesty International (UK) - The Australian government's inappropriate attitude to United Nations criticism on its "racially discriminatory" practices puts at stake the credibility of Australia's human rights diplomacy...
• Australia defends 'racist' land law
  March 13, 1999 - BBC - Australia has begun its defence at the United Nations against charges of racially discriminating against Aborigines. The Committee to End Racial Discrimination, in Geneva, wants Australia to explain changes to laws on Aboriginal land rights.

• Prescriptions for the Problem: What is being done to improve the human rights problems of indigenous peoples?
  January 1998 - Earlham University - Contents: Prescriptions from Important Actors: What is being done? Intergovernmental Organizations: United Nations; Council of Europe; Organization of American States. Nongovernmental Organizations. Critique and Suggestions: What else can be done?
• Indigenous peoples emerging on the world stage
  July 23, 1993 -Third World Network Features - For some time indigenous peoples were denied recognition and a role in international fora. This has changed with the ILO Convention on Tribal and Indigenous Peoples and the UN Commission on Human Rights' establishment of a Working Group on Indigenous Populations.
• Treaties, agreements and "constructive arrangements": indigenous people and the legal landscape
  November 24, 1992 - United Nations Information Centre in Sydney for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific - Many treaties between indigenous people and the Governments of the countries in which they live carry great symbolic and spiritual meaning. To indigenous people, treaties are seen as providing recognition of their right to self-determination and a guarantee of respect for their collective rights. Indeed, for people whose recent history has been largely one of discrimination and marginalization, marked by land dispossession, forced relocation, cultural assimilation and, in some cases, genocide, a foundation of legal protections is considered vital.

Further information:

• The Australian Social Justice Commissioner's website has been updated to include a range of materials on recent events on Indigenous issues at the international level. The new materials can be viewed on the Commissioner's international developments page.
  

  The materials include links to:

  • The recent review of Indigenous mechanisms at the United Nations, considering whether the Working Group on Indigenous Populations should be retained;
  • Submissions by the Social Justice Commissioner to the UN review of Indigenous mechanisms and to the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the content of the right of self-determination;
  • The most recent reports of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues; and Working Group on the Draft Declaration; and
  • Links to the Permanent Forum homepage and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' Indigenous issues homepage.
    
    
    
• This list is an international network of Indigenous news, UN updates and Indigenous Caucus information: ailanyc@abest.com
• United Nations Association of Australia provides a weekly update on UN matters effecting Australia.
• UN Wire - daily news on the UN and related matters.

|| click to go to the top of this page