International Year of the World's Indigenous People, 1993

1993/30. International Year of the World's Indigenous People, 1993

The Commission on Human Rights, Bearing in mind that one of the purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in the Charter, is the achievement of international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination as to race, sex, language or religion, Recognizing the value and the diversity of cultures and the forms of social organization of the world's indigenous people, Reiterating General Assembly resolution 45/164 of 18 December 1990, in which the Assembly proclaimed 1993 as International Year of the World's Indigenous People, with a view to strengthening international cooperation for the resolution of problems faced by indigenous communities in the areas, inter alia, of human rights, the environment, development, education and health, recognizing and respecting their cultural heritage, Conscious of the need to improve the economic, social and cultural situation of the indigenous people with full respect for their particularities and their own initiatives, Welcoming General Assembly resolution 47/75 of 14 December 1992, in which the Assembly proclaimed the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, Appreciative of the contributions made to date to the Voluntary Fund for the International Year opened by the Secretary-General, Noting the establishment of the fund for the development of the indigenous peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean as one kind of support sought for the objectives of the International Year, Mindful of proposals by representatives of indigenous people in support of achieving the objectives of the International Year,

1. Calls upon the United Nations system and Governments that have not yet done so to develop policies in support of the objectives and the theme of the International Year of the World's Indigenous People and to strengthen the institutional framework for their implementation;

2. Recommends to all thematic rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts and working groups to pay particular attention, within the framework of their mandates, to the situation of indigenous people;

3. Urges the Coordinator of the International Year to continue to solicit actively the cooperation of specialized agencies, regional commissions, financial and development institutions and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system for the promotion of the programme of activities contained in the annex to General Assembly resolution 46/128 of 17 December 1991;

4. Appeals to the specialized agencies, regional commissions, financial and development institutions and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system to take into special account the needs of indigenous people in their budgeting and in their programming;

5. Welcomes the recommendation in General Assembly resolution 47/75 to reconvene from within existing resources, in the three working days preceding the eleventh session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the technical meeting provided for in paragraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 46/128 with a view to concluding its deliberations and finalizing its report;

6. Stresses the relevance for the solution of problems faced by indigenous communities of the recommendations contained in chapter 26 of Agenda 21, including their implementation, in the report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (A/CONF.151/26, vol. III);

7. Also stresses that the governmental and intergovernmental activities undertaken within the context of the International Year and beyond should take fully into account the development needs of indigenous people, their own particularities and initiatives and the need for making full use of the contributions which indigenous communities can bring to sustainable national development;

8. Notes that there is a continuing need to improve the availability and the means of dissemination of socio-economic data relating to the development needs of indigenous people and that the International Year should contribute to enhancing and to facilitating the coordination capabilities of Member States for collecting and analysing information in that area;

9. Appeals to Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as organizations of indigenous people, to contribute to the Voluntary Fund for the International Year opened by the Secretary-General;

10. Encourages the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights at its fourth session to consider how issues pertinent to the International Year could be addressed within the framework of the Conference, including the substantive participation of indigenous people and the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities;

11. Authorizes the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations to represent the Working Group of the Sub-Commission at the World Conference on Human Rights;

12. Requests the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, making its best efforts, at its eleventh session, and the Sub-Commission, at its forty-fifth session, to complete their consideration of the draft universal declaration of indigenous rights and to submit their report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fiftieth session;

13. Requests the Coordinator of the International Year, in the report to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session on the activities developed and the results achieved within the context of the International Year, to include an account of the response of the United Nations system to the needs of indigenous people.

57th meeting
5 March 1993
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. XIX.]