Published: April 30th, 2008
By Jeff Davis
Opposition politicians and Aboriginal rights advocates have voiced dismay and outrage after Canada withdrew its support for a burgeoning declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas earlier this month.
The Organization of American States has been working since 1997 on a draft American declaration on the rights of indigenous people. Despite previous support and enthusiastic work on the initiative, Canadian diplomats have now clearly said they are no longer onboard.
The message was delivered to the OAS's Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on April 14 by Canadian Ambassador to the OAS Graeme Clark.
"We are formally reserving our position on the final text under negotiation," Mr. Clark told the working group. "We will no longer actively negotiate or table text."
Mr. Clark said Canada couldn't support the draft OAS declaration because it is based on a similar declaration recently adopted at the United Nations: the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The non-binding UN declaration passed with 143 votes for and four against in September 2007. Those countries voting against the adoption were Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
Canadian Permanent Representative to the United Nations John McNee, according to UN documents, told the General Assembly that Canada had significant concerns with the wording of the text.
Of particular concern, he said at the time, were issues regarding: land and resources; intellectual property; military issues; and the need to achieve an appropriate balance between the rights and obligations on indigenous peoples, states and third parties.
Ambassador Clark told the OAS working group that Canada has "no intention to stand in the way of others" and would not block the passage of the declaration, "as long as the document adopted clearly indicated that Canada did not give its support and as long as there was an explicit understanding that the declaration text therefore did not apply to Canada."
He added, however, that Canada wants to be exempted from the obligations of a future declaration "if and when a final document emerges."
Natives Already Protected: Strahl
In an interview with Embassy Monday, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Chuck Strahl defended the government's decision to step back from the OAS declaration drafting process.
Mr. Strahl said the central issue is that the OAS declaration is based on the UN declaration, which he said is not compatible with the existing Aboriginal rights provisions, jurisprudence and treaties that govern the relationship between Canada and its First Nations peoples.
"The [UN] document, as it's laid out, doesn't allow for the flexibility that Canada has worked into its system over the last hundred years," he said.
Mr. Strahl added that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and other parts of the Constitution, "explicitly talk about Aboriginal rights and title and acknowledge that they exist and that Canada recognizes them."
While Canada is not supporting the international indigenous rights declarations, he said, Canada's existing protections are far superior to those in many of the countries who voted for the UN declaration.
"Many of those countries that give lip service to this, frankly, are nowhere near as committed as Canada is to acknowledging, recognizing and working with First Nations on land rights and titles," he said. "Of the 100-plus countries at the UN that signed onto this thing, there is only a handful that would have the kind of constitutional protection that Canada is offering First Nations."
When asked if Aboriginal groups were consulted before the shift in policy, Mr. Strahl said then-Indian affairs minister Jim Prentice spoke with Aboriginal leaders to "let them know what Canada's position would be."
The minister also defended his party's track record on First Nations' issues, and said the government is pushing to expand human rights for Canada's Aboriginal peoples. In particular, he said, the government is working to have the Canadian Human Rights Act applied on reserves and to expand matrimonial property rights for native women, particularly those living on reserves.
Outrage from NGOs, Opposition
But opposition politicians and civil society groups are not buying the government's explanation, and accuse it of abandoning Canada's historical role as a defender of indigenous rights.
Liberal Indian Affairs critic Anita Neville sharply criticized the government for pulling support for the UN and OAS initiatives, and described the Conservatives as having adopted a paternalistic approach to Aboriginal issues.
"The general message, as it related to aboriginal people in this country, is that this government has a father-knows-best approach of 'We will tell you what is good for you and our consultations are minimal, if any,'" she said.
Ms. Neville said Canada's withholding of support for these initiatives is "shameful for Canada internationally," and called on the government to ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous People and re-enter negotiations on the OAS declaration.
Ms. Neville added the reasons the government gave for not supporting the declarations don't hold water. She said that these issues had already been worked through by the previous Liberal government in consultation with native leadership.
"I think they are holding those up as bogus issues," she said. "They're just using these as an excuse."
Former prime minister Paul Martin said the Conservative government's withdrawal of support for both the UN and OAS declarations is "simply inconceivable" and a break with Canadian tradition.
"Canada has historically been a leader in the rights of the indigenous people. From South America to the Asia Pacific to Africa [indigenous peoples] have looked to Canada for leadership and they have received it," he said.
"For Canada to take this position is letting the indigenous people of Canada down and letting down the indigenous people of the world who look to us to defend their position and recognize their needs and rights."
Mr. Martin said that when he was prime minister, and before, the Liberal government was a proponent of, and worked actively, on both the UN and OAS declarations.
He added that with this policy about-face, Canada has simply adopted the American position at the expense of its own.
"And the fact is that Canada ought to make up its own mind on these issues," Mr. Martin said.
Craig Benjamin, a campaigner for the human rights of indigenous people with Amnesty International, expressed his concern over Canada's attempt to exempt itself from an international human rights declaration at the OAS.
"Canada and the United States have taken the position that because they voted against the [UN] declaration, they should therefore be considered exempt from it," he said.
Mr. Benjamin said Canada's attempts to opt out could damage the fundamentals of the global human rights framework.
"We have a country like Canada that has such a global reputation as a champion of human rights, is so intimately associated with human rights standards, now implicitly suggesting that universal standards are not universal and that the government of the day can choose to opt out," he said. "What harm is that doing both to Canada's reputation and leadership, as well as the human rights system as a whole?"
Ed Bianchi, an Aboriginal rights program co-ordinator with the Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiative (KAIROS), expressed similar concerns, saying Canada's attempt at self-exemption "sets a very bad precedent," which "undermines the entire international human rights system."
He said that this attempt to pick and choose which human rights instruments it wants to respect will damage Canada's credibility as a defender of human rights on the international stage.
"How can it talk about human rights in China when it's basically saying it can determine which international human rights instruments it can respect?" he asked.
Mr. Bianchi also criticized the government for not sufficiently consulting Aboriginal groups, and for providing "misleading and uninformed" reasons for withholding its support for the declarations.
OAS Negotiations Will Continue
Ambassador Reynaldo Cuadros Anaya, permanent representative of Bolivia to the OAS and vice-chair of the OAS's Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, told Embassy last week that with the election of the Conservative government, Canada's position was reversed.
"The perception of the countries is that Canada used to be more or less leading the process," he said. "Now they feel this administration has taken a step backwards and started looking at it differently."
A few years ago, Mr. Cuadros said, negotiations on the declaration were on the "verge of being stopped," but Canadian diplomats played a central role in resuscitating the process.
Now, he said, the process is again facing tough times because the hemisphere's two most powerful countries have stepped away from the table.
"To be quite honest, [Canadian support] is determinant," he said.
Mr. Cuadros said that despite the latest developments, he remains optimistic that Canada might eventually come back around.
After all, he said, the UN declaration took 22 years to pass and the OAS is still years away from a final text.
FROM: http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2008/april/30/indigenous_rights/
Published: Thursday, May 01, 2008
Strahl does damage control amid UN criticism on native issues
Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service
UNITED NATIONS - Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl swept into the United Nations on Thursday in a bid to stem unprecedented criticism of Canada over the Conservative government's indigenous rights record at home and abroad.
Arriving on the penultimate day of a global conference on indigenous issues, Strahl called a news conference to counter charges Canada was now hostile to efforts to address indigenous causes.
Key speakers among the 3,300 delegates have been blasting Ottawa over its refusal last September to back the UN's Indigenous Rights declaration, which indigenous groups say provides a crucial framework for helping native peoples globally.
Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl
Ottawa Citizen file
Canadian First Nations delegates have been adding to the ill feeling by saying the government is failing their communities at home too.
Strahl said the international critics need to "examine the track record" of what he called "concrete actions" - everything from "human rights to quality of life issues."
"Never before has Canada taken such bold steps," he said. "Our government is committed to delivering real and measurable results, and since coming to office two years ago, we have done just that."
But leaders of the gathering - called the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues - later charged that Canada is now a villain on the world stage as far as their work is concerned.
"(They) are blocking the implementation of the declaration in the Organization of American States," said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz of the Philippines, the forum's chairwoman.
"They were the ones who (last month) went there and said the declaration cannot be the bottom line, or framework, upon which an OAS declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples can be shaped."
Successive Canadian governments took part in more than 20 years of talks aimed at producing the UN declaration, but the current government said it couldn't support what emerged because it failed to reflect what it called the traditional Canadian balancing of rights of all peoples - native and non-native.
The United States, Australia and New Zealand - three other countries with sizable native populations, but also where there is widespread consensus that native rights are among the most advanced in the world - were the only other UN member states to oppose the declaration.
The document passed overwhelmingly in the UN General Assembly, and Australia under a new government has since issued supportive statements.
"Whether you voted for it or not, it will apply to you - this is now part of international human rights law," said Tauli-Corpuz.
Noting the Canadian Parliament last month expressed support for the declaration in defiance of the minority government's position, she was unequivocal in blaming the Conservatives for what she describes as Canada's diminished reputation among indigenous groups as a guardian of their rights.
"The change of government changed the situation in a totally different direction," Tauli-Corpuz said, saying Canada's current reputation was "very bad."
"But we are optimistic that eventually they will come around and recover . . . the former image they had."
She also credited Canada with "consistent" support for the forum, launched in 2002 with significant Canadian help.
There was strong language from other forum leaders, as Lars Anders Baer of Sweden spoke of Canada's "two faces."
Noting Australia's about-face, he added: "We had a gang of four, now we have a gang of three."
Supporters of the declaration have long argued that Canada's concerns are misplaced because it is "aspirational" - meaning its provisions are not grounded in law.
But Strahl said no sooner had it been passed last year that some First Nations groups were seeking to table it in the courts as a guide to the way forward.
"We take it seriously; it is not just a statement of intent," he said. "It's also something that we want to make sure we can fulfil."
FROM: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=5e35d053-9411-4284-8de0-a52da41792e9&k=96061
© Canwest News Service 2008
Published: May 2, 2008
Canada slammed at U.N. over indigenous rights
Claudia Parsons, Reuters
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Canada, until recently seen as a champion of aboriginal rights, came under fire at the United Nations on Thursday for blocking implementation of a U.N. declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.
The General Assembly passed the non-binding declaration last September despite opposition from several developed states that said it provided excessive property and legal powers. Canada was one of four countries that voted against it.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues which met at the United Nations over the past 10 days, said Canada was now trying to block the use of the U.N. declaration as the basis of negotiation for an agreement at the Organization of American States (OAS).
Published: April 20, 2006
Members of the Six Nations Native reserve man a road block setup on highway six to protest a housing development on land they claim as their own in Caledonia, approximately 65 km south of Toronto
REUTERS/J.P. Moczulski
She told a news conference Canada used to have a good image on indigenous rights and played a leadership role in drafting the declaration, including controversial sections on land.
"The change of government, however, changed the situation in a totally different direction," she said, referring to the January 2006 election of a Conservative government.
Now she said Canada's reputation was "very bad."
Ottawa sent its Minister of Indian Affairs, Chuck Strahl, to U.N. headquarters to promote what he said was Canada's strong commitment to the rights of indigenous peoples.
Strahl told a news conference Canada had taken concrete steps in education, access to clean water and accelerating claims for past mistreatment. He said Prime Minister Stephen Harper was also planning to make an apology for past wrongs.
RIGHTS STANDARD
"There's no doubting our resolve on these issues," Strahl said. He added that Canada had opposed the U.N. declaration because indigenous rights were already enshrined in its constitution and regulated by a complex series of treaties.
"In Canada of course we recognize Aboriginal rights and title in the constitution," he said, describing the U.N. declaration as "aspirational" in contrast to the concrete rights laid out in Canada's constitution.
The minister was asked why the leaders of some Canadian tribes had been excluded from the news conference. He replied that it was limited to accredited journalists.
A coalition of Canadian indigenous peoples released a letter signed by more than 100 legal experts challenging Ottawa's assertion that the U.N. declaration was incompatible with its constitution.
The coalition urged Canada to support the declaration which it said was "an essential, universal human rights standard" urgently needed to tackle marginalization and discrimination.
Under negotiation for 20 years, the U.N. document says that indigenous people, whose number has been put at 270 million worldwide, "have the right to self-determination."
One article states "indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired."
Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand voted against the declaration, though a new government in Australia has since taken a more conciliatory line on indigenous rights.
Tauli-Corpuz noted that Canada was still a strong supporter of the permanent forum on indigenous issues and said she was optimistic Ottawa would restore its reputation soon.
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
FROM: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=df3dd077-25df-407a-b984-66d1abdfd129&k=75807
© Reuters 2008
Last Updated: Thursday, May 1, 2008 | 2:24 PM ET
Canada taking 'bold steps' on aboriginal issues, Strahl tells UN
CBC News
"Aboriginal rights are not ignored" in Canada, Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl told reporters Thursday at United Nations headquarters in New York. He made his comments despite criticism at the international body that Canada has abandoned support for aboriginal issues on the world stage.Strahl's visit to UN headquarters in New York comes amid lingering bitterness over Canada's vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last fall.
The non-binding declaration, which sets out global human rights standards for indigenous populations, was easily approved by the UN General Assembly in New York — with only Canada, New Zealand, the United Sttates and Australia dissenting. Eleven countries abstained.
Australia has since changed its mind and supported the declaration.
Speaking to reporters, Strahl cited achievements such as the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the imminent launch of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission examining decades of abuse of aboriginal children at the federally funded schools, as well as an expected apology this spring from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Strahl also pointed to the Tory government's acceleration of settlements under the land claims tribunal, and newly signed agreements with several First Nations on education and the role of aboriginal peoples in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
"Never before has Canada taken such bold steps," he said. "Our government is committed to delivering real and measurable results, and since coming to office two years ago we have done just that."
Aboriginal rights not ignored, says Strahl
"Aboriginal rights are not ignored," he said. "Aboriginal rights are enshrined in the Constitution."
During debate over the declaration, Canadian representatives at the UN expressed significant concerns over the declaration's wording on provisions addressing lands and resources, as well as another article calling on states to obtain prior informed consent with indigenous groups before enacting new laws or administrative measures.
"Frankly, I think there's a real need to see the concrete results, rather than just seeing something aspirational," Strahl said Thursday.
But despite Strahl's positive message of supporting First Nations in Canada, the minister's office refused to let any aboriginal representatives from Canada sit inside the press conference room. The First Nations chiefs were turned away at the door and had to watch Strahl speak on a TV monitor outside, the CBC's Neil Herland reported.
But Strahl defended excluding the representatives, saying he had spoken with them before the sparsely attended press conference, which he noted was an event for accredited journalists.
"In many meetings I've had with First Nations leaders, journalists aren't welcome," Strahl added.
FROM: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/01/un-strahl.html
Thu May 1, 2008 3:49pm EDT
Canada slammed at U.N. over indigenous rights
By Claudia Parsons
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Canada, until recently seen as a champion of aboriginal rights, came under fire at the United Nations on Thursday for blocking implementation of a U.N. declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.
The General Assembly passed the non-binding declaration last September despite opposition from several developed states that said it provided excessive property and legal powers. Canada was one of four countries that voted against it.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues which met at the United Nations over the past 10 days, said Canada was now trying to block the use of the U.N. declaration as the basis of negotiation for an agreement at the Organization of American States (OAS).
She told a news conference Canada used to have a good image on indigenous rights and played a leadership role in drafting the declaration, including controversial sections on land. "The change of government, however, changed the situation in a totally different direction," she said, referring to the January 2006 election of a Conservative government.
Now she said Canada's reputation was "very bad."
Ottawa sent its Minister of Indian Affairs, Chuck Strahl, to U.N. headquarters to promote what he said was Canada's strong commitment to the rights of indigenous peoples. Strahl told a news conference Canada had taken concrete steps in education, access to clean water and accelerating claims for past mistreatment. He said Prime Minister Stephen Harper was also planning to make an apology for past wrongs.
RIGHTS STANDARD
"There's no doubting our resolve on these issues," Strahl said. He added that Canada had opposed the U.N. declaration because indigenous rights were already enshrined in its constitution and regulated by a complex series of treaties.
"In Canada of course we recognize Aboriginal rights and title in the constitution," he said, describing the U.N. declaration as "aspirational" in contrast to the concrete rights laid out in Canada's constitution. The minister was asked why the leaders of some Canadian tribes had been excluded from the news conference. He replied that it was limited to accredited journalists.
A coalition of Canadian indigenous peoples released a letter signed by more than 100 legal experts challenging Ottawa's assertion that the U.N. declaration was incompatible with its constitution.
The coalition urged Canada to support the declaration which it said was "an essential, universal human rights standard" urgently needed to tackle marginalization and discrimination. Under negotiation for 20 years, the U.N. document says that indigenous people, whose number has been put at 270 million worldwide, "have the right to self-determination."
One article states "indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired." Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand voted against the declaration, though a new government in Australia has since taken a more conciliatory line on indigenous rights. Tauli-Corpuz noted that Canada was still a strong supporter of the permanent forum on indigenous issues and said she was optimistic
Ottawa would restore its reputation soon.
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
Tories use 'misleading claims' to reject UN native-rights document: lawyers
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - An open letter signed by more than 100 legal experts says the Harper government has no legal basis to reject the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Canada was one of only four countries last September to reject the historic document billed as a landmark recognition of native rights. The others were the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
The Conservatives were criticized for reversing Ottawa's previous support for the declaration, and for going against advice from three federal departments urging that it be approved.
Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl says undisclosed legal advisers said the UN document is incompatible with the constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
More than 100 lawyers who signed the letter say the claims are unfounded and do "a grave disservice to the cause of human rights."
FROM: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2008/05/01/5445706-cp.html
Published: Fri., May. 2, 2008
Indigenous Groups Slam Canada at UN
Haider Rizvi
OneWorld US
UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (OneWorld) - The Canadian government has drawn fierce condemnation from the world's indigenous communities for its refusal to sign an international document that recognizes native people's right to self-determination.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz. © Nic Paget-Clarke / In Motion Magazine
"They are obstructing the use of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, head of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, told a news conference Thursday.
Tauli-Corpuz and other indigenous leaders from across the world seemed particularly disappointed with the Canadian stance because Canada is one of the countries that played a key role in the formation of the UN Forum on Indigenous Issues.
The 16-member Forum, which is an advisory body, is currently holding its seventh annual meeting in New York. The key task for the meeting is to explore what further steps can be taken to strengthen the role of indigenous communities in the fight against climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
Indigenous leaders have consistently argued that no international efforts for environmental protection can be successful if they also undermine the rights of native people.
According to the United Nations, there are more than 370 million indigenous people worldwide who live in close proximity to nature and posses intimate knowledge about numerous species of plants and animals. To scientists, their role in efforts to preserve biodiversity is indispensable. But many governments think otherwise.
The Canadian government, like the United States, opposes the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples because it calls for both governments and private businesses to obtain prior and informed consent of indigenous communities in order to use their lands and resources.
"I see that after 500 years, colonialism is still very much alive in Canada."
- Chief Picard, Assembly of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador
Canada holds that the Declaration is incompatible with its constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Its officials argue that the Declaration affirms only the "collective rights" of indigenous peoples and that it fails to keep a balance with individual rights.
To indigenous leaders, this line of reasoning is highly questionable because the Declaration contains the most comprehensive provisions that exist in any international human rights instrument regarding indigenous people.
For example, Article 46 of the UN Declaration states that every provision must be interpreted "in accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, equality, non-discrimination, and good faith."
"These are the core principles and values of not only Canada's constitution, but also the international system that it has championed," said an open letter signed by a dozen Canadian scholars specializing in constitutional law and indigenous rights.
The letter described the government's refusal to accept the Declaration as "shameful." The signers called for the Canadian government to "cease publicizing its misleading claims," and implement the Declaration without any further delay.
In response to the letter circulated among the UN officials and more than 3,000 delegates who have come from across the world, a Canadian official tried to repair the damage at a news conference Thursday, but seemingly failed to explain why Ottawa was not signing the Declaration.
"The government has taken unprecedented steps in protecting aboriginal human rights and improving the quality of life of indigenous peoples," Canada's Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl told reporters.
Strahl noted the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the imminent launch of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well the application of human rights laws to the country's native people.
Canada's indigenous leaders see these measures -- and the government's argument on collective versus individual rights -- from a totally different perspective, largely because their concept of indigenous people's "development" is quite opposite to the government's.
"I see that after 500 years, colonialism is still very much alive in Canada," said Chief Picard of the Assembly of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador. "In spite of the existence of our ancestral rights, the reality is that the governments continue to alienate our territories, and to deny, or extinguish without hesitation, our rights and our titles."
To Picard and other indigenous leaders of Canada, it's not for the Canadian government to decide what kind of development their people need, it's the right of the indigenous communities to choose their own way of life.
"Canada's economy is based on the colonial doctrine of discovery," said Chief Arthur Manuel of the Indigenous Network of Economies and Trade, an organization based in British Columbia. "It's all about stealing land from the indigenous people. It doesn't want to recognize the Declaration because [the Declaration] recognizes our human rights."
OneWorld TV: The Land Owns Us
FROM: http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160324/1/