September 13^th marks the third anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly. The US State Department’s formal review of the declaration will end in October. The department has asked Native American tribal leaders to write letters and give feedback about what the declaration means to their people. Now is the time to take action and let the Obama administration know why this document is so important to Native peoples in the US. 

The UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples concluded its third session. The session took place from 12 to 16 July 2010, at the United Nations Office in Geneva. The Expert Mechanism is a new United Nations mechanism on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and was created by the Human Rights Council to continue the work of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 2007. This year’s session focused on the right to participate in decision-making.

In celebration of the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples (1995/2004), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched the Indigenous Fellowship Programme (IFP) to give Indigenous Peoples the opportunity to learn about the UN system. The program offers insights into mechanisms dealing with human rights in general and Indigenous issues in particular so Native Peoples can assist their organizations and communities in protecting and promoting the rights of their people.

On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution declaring the right to “safe and clean drinking water and sanitation” a fundamental human right. Presented by the Bolivian government, the resolution received favorable votes from 122 countries, while 42 countries—including Canada, the US, and Australia—abstained. No country voted against the measure. More than 884 million people around the world lack access to drinking water, 2.6 billion are without access to basic sanitation, and 3 billion have no running water within a kilometer of their homes.

On July 21, the Botswana High Court ruled against the San Bushmen, barring them from re-opening a vital waterhole in the Kalahari desert, which is key to their way of life and survival.

What is the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?