Book Review: The UN Draft Declaration on Indigenous Peoples. Assessment of the Draft Prepared by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations
| DOI | 10.1177/016934419501300211 |
| Date | 01 June 1995 |
| Published date | 01 June 1995 |
| Subject Matter | Part D: DocumentationBook Review |
Part D: Documentation
BOOK
REVIEWS
Eyassu Gayim, The UN Draft Declaration on Indigenous Peoples. Assessment
of
the
Draft Prepared by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, University of
Lapland,
Rovaniemi,
Finland
1994, 120
pp.'
The book is very informative and has the advantage of being followed by five appendixes:
the draft Declaration itself (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1993/29); the 1957 ILO Convention No. 107
on Indigenous Populations; the 1989 ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous Populations;
Resolution 1993/46 of the UN Human Rights Sub-Commission Concerning the draft
Declaration; and Resolution 1994/29 of the UN Commission on Human Rights
Concerning the draft Declaration. Since there are frequent references to these sources it
is very convenient to have included them. Another advantage of the book is that it has
been published very soon after the draft Declaration and therefore will find many readers
who wish to be informed about this topic. However, the book fails to organize its
contents in a logical manner, has some contradictory statements and seems to evade the
basic problems of the draft Declaration, one of which is the mixture of individual and
collective rights which can be exercised by indigenous groups. Another is the
unsuccessful attempt that was made to balancethe interestsof the indigenous peoples and
the interests of the States, which do not wish to accept fully the legal consequences of
calling a group 'people'.
In the Preface of his book the author states that his objective in writing it is to shed
light on the controversial elements of the Draft and to provoke lively debate on it, adding
in the Introduction that his intention is 'to examine the text of the Draft itself in light of
international human rights instruments', taking also into account UN General Assembly
Resolution 411120 of 4 December 1986, entitled 'Setting international standards in the
field of human rights'. This resolution, which establishes five requirements to adopt a
new human rights document,' is quoted because 'a new instrument should neither weaken
the accepted standards nor simply restate what has been proclaimed' (p. 2).
After this introduction, the reader would expect the author to analyze the draft
Declaration on these bases, but this does not actually happen in a consistent manner.
Also, since the purpose of the book is to examine a document, and therefore not to
undertake the elucidation of 'evolving rights of indigenous peoples', the organization of
the book is essential to evaluate its worth. Yet, there are several flaws in this regard. An
examination of the chapters will clarify the problems of the book.
Chapters 1 and 2 contain very brief descriptions of the background to the draft
Declaration and an overview of its scope.
Chapter 3 contains a 'Systematic Analysisof the Contents of the Draft' and isdivided
in six sections. The first is on protection, under which all articles protecting indigenous
populations and members thereof are grouped. The second is on 'recognized individual
Cecilia Medina.
The requirements set forth in the resolution are: (i) be consistent with the existing body of international
human rights law; (ii) be of fundamental character and derive from the inherent dignity and worth of the
human person; (iii) be sufficiently precise to give rise to identifiable and practicable rights and obligations;
(iv) provide, where appropriate, realistic and effective implementation machinery, including reporting
systems; and (v) attract international support.
203
To continue reading
Request your trial