United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

1

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

[without reference to a Main Committee (A/61/L.67 and Add.1)]

61/295. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of

Indigenous Peoples

The General Assembly,

Taking note of the recommendation of the Human Rights Council

contained in its resolution 1/2 of 29 June 2006,1 by which the

Council adopted the text of the United Nations Declaration on the

Rights of Indigenous Peoples,

Recalling its resolution 61/178 of 20 December 2006, by which

it decided to defer consideration of and action on the Declaration

to allow time for further consultations thereon, and also decided to

conclude its consideration before the end of the sixty-first session of

the General Assembly,

Adopts the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous

Peoples as contained in the annex to the present resolution.

107th plenary meeting

13 September 2007

Annex

United Nations Declaration on the

Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United

Nations, and good faith in the fulfilment of the obligations assumed

by States in accordance with the Charter,

Affirming that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples,

while recognizing the right of all peoples to be different, to consider

themselves different, and to be respected as such,

1.See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session,

Supplement No. 53 (A/61/53), part one, chap. II, sect. A.

2

Affirming also that all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness

of civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage

of humankind,

Affirming further that all doctrines, policies and practices based on

or advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of

national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences are

racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and

socially unjust,

Reaffirming that indigenous peoples, in the exercise of their rights,

should be free from discrimination of any kind,

Concerned that indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices

as a result of, inter alia, their colonization and dispossession

of their lands, territories and resources, thus preventing them from

exercising, in particular, their right to development in accordance

with their own needs and interests,

Recognizing the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent

rights of indigenous peoples which derive from their political, economic

and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions,

histories and philosophies, especially their rights to their lands,

territories and resources,

Recognizing also the urgent need to respect and promote the rights

of indigenous peoples affirmed in treaties, agreements and other

constructive arrangements with States,

Welcoming the fact that indigenous peoples are organizing themselves

for political, economic, social and cultural enhancement and

in order to bring to an end all forms of discrimination and oppression

wherever they occur,

Convinced that control by indigenous peoples over developments

affecting them and their lands, territories and resources will enable

them to maintain and strengthen their institutions, cultures and traditions,

and to promote their development in accordance with their

aspirations and needs,

Recognizing that respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and

traditional practices contributes to sustainable and equitable development

and proper management of the environment,

Emphasizing the contribution of the demilitarization of the lands

and territories of indigenous peoples to peace, economic and social3

progress and development, understanding and friendly relations

among nations and peoples of the world,

Recognizing in particular the right of indigenous families and communities

to retain shared responsibility for the upbringing, training,

education and well-being of their children, consistent with the rights

of the child,

Considering that the rights affirmed in treaties, agreements and other

constructive arrangements between States and indigenous peoples

are, in some situations, matters of international concern, interest,

responsibility and character,

Considering also that treaties, agreements and other constructive

arrangements, and the relationship they represent, are the basis for a

strengthened partnership between indigenous peoples and States,

Acknowledging that the Charter of the United Nations, the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights2 and the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,2 as well as the

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,3 affirm the fundamental

importance of the right to self-determination of all peoples,

by virtue of which they freely determine their political status and

freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development,

Bearing in mind that nothing in this Declaration may be used to

deny any peoples their right to self-determination, exercised in conformity

with international law,

Convinced that the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples

in this Declaration will enhance harmonious and cooperative relations

between the State and indigenous peoples, based on principles

of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, non-discrimination

and good faith,

Encouraging States to comply with and effectively implement all

their obligations as they apply to indigenous peoples under international

instruments, in particular those related to human rights, in

consultation and cooperation with the peoples concerned,

Emphasizing that the United Nations has an important and continuing

role to play in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous

peoples,

2.See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.

3.A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III. 4

Believing that this Declaration is a further important step forward

for the recognition, promotion and protection of the rights and

freedoms of indigenous peoples and in the development of relevant

activities of the United Nations system in this field,

Recognizing and reaffirming that indigenous individuals are entitled

without discrimination to all human rights recognized in international

law, and that indigenous peoples possess collective rights

which are indispensable for their existence, well-being and integral

development as peoples,

Recognizing that the situation of indigenous peoples varies from

region to region and from country to country and that the significance

of national and regional particularities and various historical

and cultural backgrounds should be taken into consideration,

Solemnly proclaims the following United Nations Declaration on the

Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a standard of achievement to be

pursued in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect:

Article 1

Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective

or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms

as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights4 and international human rights law.

Article 2

Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other

peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind

of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that

based on their indigenous origin or identity.

Article 3

Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue

of that right they freely determine their political status and freely

pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

Article 4

Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination,

have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to

4.Resolution 217 A (III). 5

their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing

their autonomous functions.

Article 5

Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their

distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions,

while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in

the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State.

Article 6

Every indigenous individual has the right to a nationality.

Article 7

1. Indigenous individuals have the rights to life, physical and mental

integrity, liberty and security of person.

2. Indigenous peoples have the collective right to live in freedom,

peace and security as distinct peoples and shall not be subjected to

any act of genocide or any other act of violence, including forcibly

removing children of the group to another group.

Article 8

1. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be

subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture.

2. States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and

redress for:

(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them

of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values

or ethnic identities;

(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing

them of their lands, territories or resources;

(c) Any form of forced population transfer which has the aim

or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;

(d) Any form of forced assimilation or integration;

(e) Any form of propaganda designed to promote or incite

racial or ethnic discrimination directed against them. 6

Article 9

Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an

indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions

and customs of the community or nation concerned. No discrimination

of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right.

Article 10

Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or

territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and

informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after

agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with

the option of return.

Article 11

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their

cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain,

protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of

their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts,

designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts

and literature.

2. States shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which

may include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous

peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual

property taken without their free, prior and informed consent

or in violation of their laws, traditions and customs.

Article 12

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practise, develop

and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies;

the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy

to their religious and cultural sites; the right to the use and control

of their ceremonial objects; and the right to the repatriation of their

human remains.

2. States shall seek to enable the access and/or repatriation of ceremonial

objects and human remains in their possession through fair,

transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with

indigenous peoples concerned. 7

Article 13

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and

transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions,

philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate

and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.

2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is

protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand

and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings,

where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other

appropriate means.

Article 14

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their

educational systems and institutions providing education in their

own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of

teaching and learning.

2. Indigenous individuals, particularly children, have the right to

all levels and forms of education of the State without discrimination.

3. States shall, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, take effective

measures, in order for indigenous individuals, particularly children,

including those living outside their communities, to have

access, when possible, to an education in their own culture and provided

in their own language.

Article 15

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity

of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be

appropriately reflected in education and public information.

2. States shall take effective measures, in consultation and cooperation

with the indigenous peoples concerned, to combat prejudice

and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding

and good relations among indigenous peoples and all other segments

of society.

Article 16

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in

their own languages and to have access to all forms of non-indigenous

media without discrimination. 8

2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that State-owned

media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. States, without

prejudice to ensuring full freedom of expression, should encourage

privately owned media to adequately reflect indigenous cultural

diversity.

Article 17

1. Indigenous individuals and peoples have the right to enjoy fully

all rights established under applicable international and domestic

labour law.

2. States shall in consultation and cooperation with indigenous

peoples take specific measures to protect indigenous children from

economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely

to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be

harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or

social development, taking into account their special vulnerability

and the importance of education for their empowerment.

3. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any

discriminatory conditions of labour and, inter alia, employment or

salary.

Article 18

Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making

in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives

chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures,

as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decisionmaking

institutions.

Article 19

States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous

peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in

order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting

and implementing legislative or administrative measures that

may affect them.

Article 20

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop their

political, economic and social systems or institutions, to be secure

in the enjoyment of their own means of subsistence and development,

and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic

activities. 9

2. Indigenous peoples deprived of their means of subsistence and

development are entitled to just and fair redress.

Article 21

1. Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to

the improvement of their economic and social conditions, including,

inter alia, in the areas of education, employment, vocational training

and retraining, housing, sanitation, health and social security.

2. States shall take effective measures and, where appropriate, special

measures to ensure continuing improvement of their economic

and social conditions. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights

and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and

persons with disabilities.

Article 22

1. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs

of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities

in the implementation of this Declaration.

2. States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous peoples,

to ensure that indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection

and guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination.

Article 23

Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities

and strategies for exercising their right to development. In

particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved

in developing and determining health, housing and other economic

and social programmes affecting them and, as far as possible, to

administer such programmes through their own institutions.

Article 24

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to their traditional medicines

and to maintain their health practices, including the conservation of

their vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals. Indigenous individuals

also have the right to access, without any discrimination, to

all social and health services.

2. Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of

the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. States

shall take the necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively

the full realization of this right. 10

Article 25

Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their

distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or

otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal

seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to

future generations in this regard.

Article 26

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and

resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise

used or acquired.

2. Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and

control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason

of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use,

as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.

3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands,

territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with

due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the

indigenous peoples concerned.

Article 27

States shall establish and implement, in conjunction with indigenous

peoples concerned, a fair, independent, impartial, open and

transparent process, giving due recognition to indigenous peoples’

laws, traditions, customs and land tenure systems, to recognize and

adjudicate the rights of indigenous peoples pertaining to their lands,

territories and resources, including those which were traditionally

owned or otherwise occupied or used. Indigenous peoples shall have

the right to participate in this process.

Article 28

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to redress, by means that can

include restitution or, when this is not possible, just, fair and equitable

compensation, for the lands, territories and resources which they

have traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used, and which

have been confiscated, taken, occupied, used or damaged without

their free, prior and informed consent.

2. Unless otherwise freely agreed upon by the peoples concerned,

compensation shall take the form of lands, territories and resources11

equal in quality, size and legal status or of monetary compensation

or other appropriate redress.

Article 29

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection

of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands

or territories and resources. States shall establish and implement

assistance programmes for indigenous peoples for such conservation

and protection, without discrimination.

2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or

disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories

of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed

consent.

3. States shall also take effective measures to ensure, as needed,

that programmes for monitoring, maintaining and restoring the

health of indigenous peoples, as developed and implemented by the

peoples affected by such materials, are duly implemented.

Article 30

1. Military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories

of indigenous peoples, unless justified by a relevant public interest or

otherwise freely agreed with or requested by the indigenous peoples

concerned.

2. States shall undertake effective consultations with the indigenous

peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and in

particular through their representative institutions, prior to using

their lands or territories for military activities.

Article 31

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect

and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional

cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their

sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic

resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna

and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional

games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to

maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property

over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional

cultural expressions. 12

2. In conjunction with indigenous peoples, States shall take effective

measures to recognize and protect the exercise of these rights.

Article 32

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop

priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or

territories and other resources.

2. States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous

peoples concerned through their own representative institutions

in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the

approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other

resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization

or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.

3. States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress

for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to

mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual

impact.

Article 33

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity

or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions.

This does not impair the right of indigenous individuals to obtain

citizenship of the States in which they live.

2. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the structures

and to select the membership of their institutions in accordance with

their own procedures.

Article 34

Indigenous peoples have the right to promote, develop and maintain

their institutional structures and their distinctive customs, spirituality,

traditions, procedures, practices and, in the cases where they

exist, juridical systems or customs, in accordance with international

human rights standards.

Article 35

Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the responsibilities

of individuals to their communities. 13

Article 36

1. Indigenous peoples, in particular those divided by international

borders, have the right to maintain and develop contacts, relations

and cooperation, including activities for spiritual, cultural, political,

economic and social purposes, with their own members as well as

other peoples across borders.

2. States, in consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples,

shall take effective measures to facilitate the exercise and ensure

the implementation of this right.

Article 37

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition, observance

and enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive

arrangements concluded with States or their successors and to have

States honour and respect such treaties, agreements and other constructive

arrangements.

2. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as diminishing

or eliminating the rights of indigenous peoples contained in treaties,

agreements and other constructive arrangements.

Article 38

States, in consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples,

shall take the appropriate measures, including legislative measures,

to achieve the ends of this Declaration.

Article 39

Indigenous peoples have the right to have access to financial and

technical assistance from States and through international cooperation,

for the enjoyment of the rights contained in this Declaration.

Article 40

Indigenous peoples have the right to access to and prompt decision

through just and fair procedures for the resolution of conflicts and

disputes with States or other parties, as well as to effective remedies

for all infringements of their individual and collective rights. Such

a decision shall give due consideration to the customs, traditions,

rules and legal systems of the indigenous peoples concerned and

international human rights. 14

Article 41

The organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system

and other intergovernmental organizations shall contribute to the full

realization of the provisions of this Declaration through the mobilization,

inter alia, of financial cooperation and technical assistance. Ways

and means of ensuring participation of indigenous peoples on issues

affecting them shall be established.

Article 42

The United Nations, its bodies, including the Permanent Forum on

Indigenous Issues, and specialized agencies, including at the country

level, and States shall promote respect for and full application of

the provisions of this Declaration and follow up the effectiveness of

this Declaration.

Article 43

The rights recognized herein constitute the minimum standards for

the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the

world.

Article 44

All the rights and freedoms recognized herein are equally guaranteed

to male and female indigenous individuals.

Article 45

Nothing in this Declaration may be construed as diminishing

or extinguishing the rights indigenous peoples have now or may

acquire in the future.

Article 46

1. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for

any State, people, group or person any right to engage in any activity

or to perform any act contrary to the Charter of the United Nations

or construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would

dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or

political unity of sovereign and independent States.

2. In the exercise of the rights enunciated in the present Declaration,

human rights and fundamental freedoms of all shall be

respected. The exercise of the rights set forth in this Declaration

shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law15

and in accordance with international human rights obligations. Any

such limitations shall be non-discriminatory and strictly necessary

solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for

the rights and freedoms of others and for meeting the just and most

compelling requirements of a democratic society.

3. The provisions set forth in this Declaration shall be interpreted

in accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, respect for

human rights, equality, non-discrimination, good governance and

good faith.