TITLE: Acknowledging the 10th Anniversary of the Passage of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations ratified the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) ten years ago on September 13, 2007; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has been actively involved in the drafting and implementation process of UNDRIP since at least 1999; and
WHEREAS, the UNDRIP is an historic statement of rights intended to guard against the genocide, the theft of lands and resources, the discrimination, and the political exclusion that Indian nations and many other indigenous peoples have suffered – and too often continue to suffer today; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) believes that implementation of the UNDRIP both by the United Nations as well as by the government of the United States is critical for protecting and furthering the rights of indigenous peoples both domestically and internationally; and
WHEREAS, ten years after the adoption of UNDRIP indigenous rights are still regularly violated, with indigenous peoples in all regions continuing to face atrocities that violate their individual and collective rights; and
WHEREAS, the UNDRIP will not achieve its purposes without concrete actions on the part of the UN including lasting, effective institutions to monitor and encourage compliance with and implementation of the rights in the Declaration; and
WHEREAS, as former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya has said, “implementation of the Declaration should be regarded as a political, moral and, yes, legal imperative without qualification.”
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) congratulates those Indigenous governments and peoples and UN member states who have worked together over the past decade to lay the ground work for full implementation of UNDRIP; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI calls upon UN member states to redouble their commitment to ensuring that best intentions to implement UNDRIP result in best practices and meaningful reforms to uphold the rights of indigenous peoples enshrined in UNDRIP; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI affirms and recognizes the critical role held by indigenous constitutional and customary tribal governments, as the direct and accountable representatives to constituencies of indigenous peoples and tribes of the United States, in the implementation of the UNDRIP by the United Nations, as well as within the federal and state governments of the United States of America; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.