Notes

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States initially refused to sign the UNDRIP. The four countries share very similar colonial histories and, as a result, have common concerns. Each nation argued that the level of autonomy recognized for Indigenous peoples in the UNDRIP was problematic and would undermine the sovereignty of their own states, particularly in the context of land disputes and natural resource extraction. Some governments claimed that the UNDRIP might override existing human rights obligations, even though the document itself explicitly gives precedence to international human rights (see Article 46). The UNDRIP may, however, provide guiding principles that national courts could use to judge a government’s actions in cases involving Indigenous rights.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is an international instrument adopted by the United Nations on September 13, 2007, to enshrine (according to Article 43) the rights that “constitute the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world.” The UNDRIP protects collective rights that may not be addressed in other human rights charters that emphasize individual rights, and it also safeguards the individual rights of Indigenous people. The Declaration is the product of almost 25 years of deliberation by U.N. member states and Indigenous groups.