17 Years of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

September 13, 2024, marks 17 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). 

In a historic vote on September 13, 2007, 144 countries voted for the Declaration, 11 abstained, and only four (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States) voted against it. Since 2007, all four countries, including the United States, have reversed their positions and now officially endorse the Declaration. 

The Declaration is the outcome of 25 years of hard negotiations. The rights spelled out in the document "constitute the minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of the Indigenous Peoples of the world."  The Declaration protects the collective rights and individual rights of Indigenous Peoples in relation to self-government, land, education, employment, health, and other areas.

The Declaration also requires countries to consult with Indigenous Peoples with the goal of obtaining their consent on matters that concern them. As explained by former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, the right of self-determination is "to be full and equal participants in the creation of the institutions of government under which they live and, further, to live within a governing institutional order in which they are perpetually in control of their own destinies." 

While several countries have made steps towards aligning their policies with the standards enshrined in the Declaration, an implementation gap remains. "Governments around the world must honor their responsibilities to move from Declaration endorsement to adoption and align their domestic laws and policies with the rights, self-governance, and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples," says Cultural Survival Executive Director Aimee Roberson (Choctaw and Chickasaw).

Cultural Survival has put together this interactive timeline to display the history of the Declaration and progress towards its implementation since 2007.

The History of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Its Implementation

Watch Centering Indigenous Peoples' Self-Determination in the Energy Transition and Sustainable Development

In this virtual roundtable, Indigenous leaders discuss the historical journey of self-determination, contemporary challenges and advancement of the right, and the relationship between self-determination and Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). They will also address practical steps for policy makers, states and corporations to respect and align with diverse expressions of self-determination globally. Other topics include experiences forwarding self-determined priorities in contemporary global contexts; overcoming challenges for inclusion of self-determination in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and navigating autonomy and self-governance within the broader framework of self-determination. Organized by the SIRGE Coalition.

Read "16th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Seeding the Generational Legacy of the International Indigenous Rights Movement," by Wakinyan LaPointe (Sicangu Lakota). ...This international Indigenous rights movement was not solely a political movement, it was a spiritual and cultural movement that ultimately disrupted the global status quo and colonial norms of States that had for too long ignored the existence of Indigenous Peoples.... Read more.    Read our anniversary issue of the Cultural Survival Quarterly on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

A Modern Declaration Woven into an Ancient Art Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag) and human rights lawyer Michelle Cook (Diné), founder of Divest Invest Protect speak about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples wampum belt.  Listen to our Indigenous Rights Radio Podcasts on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples A Modern Declaration Weaved into an Ancient Custom - The UNDRIP Wampum Belt In this podcast, we share with you the incredible work of Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag) and human rights lawyer Michelle Cook (Diné), founder of Divest Invest Protect (DIP), on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples wampum belt. Indigenous artist and advocate Hartman Deetz looks to his ancestors, to his past, to wampum-- the ancient tool of art, law, ritual, and diplomacy to find guidance and ways forward for his people. The UNDRIP wampum belt is a means of teaching Indigenous human rights using and centering Indigenous Peoples' technology and pedagogical legal practices with wampum as both the medium and the message of accountability, healing, and change.    Les Malezer on Commemorating UNDRIP Listen to Les Malezer (Gubbi Gubbi), former Expert Member on the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, on commemorating 13 years of the Declaration. Malezer with the Global Indigenous Peoples Caucus worked to advance the Declaration through the final stages to the UN General Assembly in 2007. Listen to our Indigenous Right Radio programs on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Escucha nuestros programas de radio sobre la Declaración de la ONU sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas en español. Escuche y descargue  los 46 articulos de la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indigenas, junto con una explicación simple de que significa para usted y su comunidad. Learn about the Articles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples      Listen to our radio series breaking down each of the 46 articles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.   Articles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Kakchiqel Read the UN Declaration in Indigenous Languages Aymara - provided by COINCABOL Guarani - provided by the UNDP, Paraguay Maori (spoken in New Zealand) Mapuche - provided by UNIC, Argentina Miskito (spoken in Nicaragua and Honduras) Mohawk (spoken in North America) Sami (North) - provided by Finnish Sámi Parliament  ...and in more languages here.