Working Group on Indigenous Populations

The Working Group on Indigenous Populations (English Working Group on Indigenous Populations, WGIP ) was next to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous peoples of the three organs of the United Nations, entirely on the situation of indigenous peoples of the earth is concerned. Institutional successor to the WGIP is the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ( Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, EMRIP ).

Formation and mandate

The Working Group on Indigenous Populations was founded in 1982, a committee of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the now-defunct UN Human Rights Commission.

The WGIP was the first UN body at all, which is specifically and exclusively concerned with human rights of indigenous peoples.

The working group had a two-fold mandate:

• The investigation / observation (review) of developments in connection with the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples; as well as
• Participation in ( lit. to give attention to) the development of international standards related to indigenous rights.

Examination of current developments

The taking place in Geneva on an annual basis session weeks each current issues were brought to the fore, these included, inter alia: Location of Indigenous young people, health, globalization, Free and Prior Informed Consent, Indigenous Peoples and solution ( violent ) conflicts. In addition, could be discussed within the general debate any issues relating to indigenous peoples.

Development of indigenous rights ( standard-setting )

Began in 1985, the working group to draw up a UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (General Assembly resolution 61/295 of the UN General Assembly ). This mandate she had met in 1993 with the adoption of the draft declaration. After many years of tough negotiations, it was adopted in revised form in July 2006 by the newly established UN Human Rights Council during its first session. On 13 September 2007 finally was the adoption by the UN General Assembly: When eleven abstentions voted 143 Member States and four ( Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) against the text. Since 2009, Australia and New Zealand support the declaration, so that only the votes of the United States and Canada are missing. 2010 Canada announced - but with reservations - his approval, and the U.S. wants to reconsider its position.

In addition, the WGIP tried to continue in the formulation and reduction of human rights standards ( standard setting ) assist Indigenous Peoples, with the annual meetings in Geneva each one main topic was discussed. Topics included, inter alia, Health situation of indigenous young people, consequences of globalization and the resolution of armed and other conflicts.

Operation and importance of WGIP

The actual work group consisted of five members, each global region was represented by an expert. Until 2001 it was led by Erika - Irene Daes (Greece). As of 2002, the Presidency was at Miguel Alfonso Martínez - (Cuba). In the institutional hierarchy of the UN WGIP was located very low. They had neither the power of attorney, resolutions or declarations to adopt, nor could they act as appellate authority against individual human rights violations against indigenous peoples.

The special importance of WGIP was that it granted unlike other UN bodies, indigenous representatives unrestricted access. Temporarily at the annually held in Geneva meetings of the WGIP was attended by over 1000 representatives of indigenous peoples, NGOs and governments. So she was until it was replaced in it by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the most important regular meetings of indigenous organizations.

The WGIP had acted as a major driver for indigenous rights within the UN since the early 80s. Go on their own initiative, both the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York UN headquarters back the draft ( Draft).

Resolution of the Working Group and succession

As a result of the replacement of the UN Commission on Human Rights by the UN Human Rights Council all the panels were called into question, which were subordinate to the Commission, as well as the Sub - Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, who was assigned to the Working Group. Proponents of abolition argued that the Working Group through the establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has become superfluous, and that the areas of work of both bodies largely overlapped. In contrast, representatives of the Working Group as well as representatives of indigenous peoples objected that the working group, in contrast is a human rights body that actively the development of human rights standards operate while the Forum is a consultative body of the UN Economic and Social Council, which neither a human rights mandate Declare nor the expertise to standard setting.

As a result of the discussion, a new panel of experts on indigenous issues was established under the UN Human Rights Council in 2008, which met in October 2008 for the first time in Geneva.

To name

The abbreviation stands for WGIP Working Group on Indigenous Populations (Working Group on Indigenous Populations ). Commonly it is often called the " Working Group for Indigenous Peoples " refers to, but due to disputes over the small ' s' you remain this name officially denied.

Often, the working group is also abbreviated as UNWGIP, the UN should stand for United Nations. However, this is not the correct term, since it is not a working group " the UN" (such a device is not institutionally provided ), but a sub-working group of the Sub-Commission.