On June 15, 2016, after decades of work with Indigenous Peoples, the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The OAS consists of the 35 independent states of the western hemisphere. NARF represented the National Congress of American Indians in this program, which included Indigenous representatives from across the hemisphere.
Since the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, the guiding principle during the American negotiations was that all adopted standards would be at least as stringent as those in the UN Declaration. To that end, Article XXXIX of the American Declaration provides that: “The rights contained in this Declaration and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples constitute the minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.”
The American Declaration goes beyond the UN Declaration in several respects including measures related to treaties, the rights of children, and the rights of peoples in voluntary isolation. The American Declaration will be used within the Inter-American Court on Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to build on an existing body of decisions supporting Indigenous rights.NARF has worked on this project with its client, the National Congress of American Indians since 1999, along with indigenous representatives from throughout the hemisphere.
In 2019 NARF signed a statement from an Indigenous representative coalition calling for the OAS to fully carry out its Plan of Action to implement the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The First Inter-American Meeting on the Implementation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was in Antigua, Guatemala in March 2023. Among other matters, negotiations addressed the formation of a monitoring body to monitor implementation of the American Declaration. The United States did not take part in the meeting.
At the subsequent 53rd General Assembly meeting in June 2023, the General Assembly approved a resolution calling for the creation of a body to monitor the implementation of the American Declaration. This is a tremendous accomplishment and a long time coming. Indigenous Peoples and state Parties are in the process of naming 8 representatives from Indigenous Peoples and 8 from states (4 primary representatives and 4 alternates) to meet in Washington, DC, to flesh out details of this monitoring body. Observers from Indigenous Peoples will be able to attend and participate according to present plans. NARF plans to participate in these meetings. In the meantime, NCAI and NARF participated in the Indigenous statement to be delivered at the General Assembly in Paraguay in August 2024.
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