Participation in Working Group Meetings 

Upcoming Working Group meetings will be posted on our website as well as on the OAS website.  Indigenous people that would like to participate in the Working Group meetings on the draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples may do so without registering with the OAS. Indigenous participants are welcome to attend any of the Working Group meetings as well as other related meetings, such as those convened by the Indigenous Caucus.  The Indigenous Caucus is an ad-hoc gathering of indigenous participants that usually convenes two or three days prior to the official Working Group meetings in order to consult with each other and, where possible, develop common strategies and proposals for the negotiation sessions.   These meetings are loosely organized and completely open to the public. 

The Specific Fund of voluntary contributions was established by Resolution 1780 of the General Assembly, in order to facilitate indigenous participation in Working Group meetings.  Thus, indigenous representatives may seek economic support from the Specific Fund for travel and per diem related to their participation in the meetings.   Interested applicants may contact the following individuals for further information:

Applications will be judged based on the following criteria from Permanent Council Resolution 873, according to the OAS website:

a. They must be representatives of indigenous organizations and communities. To facilitate selection, applicants must submit a letter from their respective organization or community designating them as their representatives. The same letter must include information supporting the request for financial assistance.

b. The representatives appointed by the indigenous organizations and communities may submit their communications to the Selection Board in any of the official languages of the Organization (English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish).

c. No more than two representatives from each indigenous organization or community shall receive financial support to participate in a single event, subject to the availability of funds.

d. The Selection Board shall take into account the equitable geographic representation of beneficiaries.

e. The Selection Board shall take gender equity and equality into account, and indigenous organizations and communities should consider this recommendation in selecting their representatives.

Despite the establishment of the Specific Fund, there are a number of indigenous organizations and representatives - such as the representatives from the Navajo Nation and Six Nations- that participate in Working Group meetings independent of support from the Fund, which is drawn from state member contributions.   As a non-profit, non-governmental organization, the Center chooses to maintain its independence by not receiving funds or contributions from any state, including states from the European Community.  

History of Indigenous Participation

The Center recognizes the fundamental link between indigenous participation and the promotion and protection of their collective rights.  Thus, since its establishment, the Center has fought for the inclusion of indigenous issues in all aspects of the OAS's work and worked to open a path for full and effective indigenous participation. 

In response to increasing pressure from indigenous peoples and civil society, the General Assembly of the OAS began emitting directives to its subsidiary organs and agencies in 1989 to consider the draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  The first of these directives, contained in Resolution 1022, directed the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to develop a proposal for an American Declaration dealing with indigenous rights.  Subsequently, the creation of new international standards related to these rights became a part of the General Assembly's agenda and, by its directive, that of other agencies and organs of the OAS.

Nevertheless, the mainstreaming of indigenous issues - in particular, the development of a declaration which refers to the rights of the indigenous peoples in the Americas - has not meant that indigenous peoples have enjoyed full and effective participation in its development (see Stage One: Preliminary Development).  The Center and other indigenous organizations have been forced to intensify their efforts in order to compel the OAS's organs to provide adequate space for indigenous participation, even in the creation of an instrument which refers to their rights. 

As a result of these collective efforts, the General Assembly ordered, by means of Resolution 1610, that its subsidiary organs and agencies - including the Working Group - contemplate the adequate participation of indigenous representatives from the Americas.  Subsequently, as stipulated in Resolution 1708, the General Assembly also ordered its agencies to take those measures necessary to promote a more representative participation of indigenous organizations and communities in the Western Hemisphere. 

Despite the binding nature of General Assembly directives, broad indigenous participation in the Working Group was impeded at least in part by the scarcity of funds available to support indigenous representatives' participation in the meetings, which were generally held in Washington, D.C., USA.  This problem was somewhat ameliorated by the creation of a Specific Fund by the Permanent Council, which facilitated the participation of indigenous representatives in meetings regarding the draft Declaration (Resolution 1780).  Thus, in recent years, many indigenous representatives that could not previously attend the meetings have been able to attend them with the economic support of the Specific Fund, while others choose to participate independently.  Needless to say, the establishment of the fund did not mean that all indigenous representatives have been able to participate in the meetings. 

It is thus important to note that the resolutions of the General Assembly did not, in and of themselves, result in the full and effective participation that indigenous peoples and organizations now exercise within the Working Group.  It took the efforts of many indigenous communities and organizations, including the Center, to urge that these Resolutions be fully implemented so that indigenous participation would become a reality.

Due to efforts along these lines, full and effective indigenous participation on par with member states began to take shape following Resolution 1919.  Through this Resolution, the General Assembly urged the Working Group to begin the negotiation meetings in the quest for consensus, based on the Chair of the Working Group's Consolidated Text and incorporating proposals of indigenous representatives and others equitably. 

Subsequently, the Chair of the Working Group further elaborated the details of indigenous participation.  Through the Proposal on the Participation of the Representatives of Indigenous Peoples in the Initial Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus, the following was submitted: "The representatives of the indigenous peoples in each member state of the Organization will appoint an indigenous expert or leader to take part in the aforementioned meeting. [...] The meeting's sessions will be public and will recognize the right of indigenous experts or leaders to express their views on each of the articles in the Draft American Declaration, in accordance with the established schedule for these meetings."

Indigenous Participation Today 

After many years of struggle to attain full and effective indigenous participation, representatives of indigenous peoples and organizations of the Americas are finally active participants on par with the delegations of state members in the debates over the draft Declaration.  This development has opened the way for more meaningful and significant indigenous participation.  The Center's efforts to facilitate such  participation over the years have been manifold.  For example, the Center has accompanied and assisted indigenous representatives, including the Navajo Nation and the Six Nations, in the promotion and protection of their rights.  Similarly, in 2003 and 2004, the Center helped to organize preparatory meetings of indigenous participants before the Working Group meeting, assisting clients and other indigenous representatives to effectively advocate for their interests.  Subsequently, these preparatory meetings became the basis of what is today known as the Indigenous Caucus. 

On the basis of these improvements in indigenous participation, the OAS process seems to have entered a new stage marked by a greater level of seriousness and transparency.  One of the most obvious achievements of this new phase is that, for the first time in the history of the OAS, civil society - including indigenous peoples and organizations - was allowed to actively participate in Working Group meetings on par with member state delegations. 

One of the notable achievements of this new stage was the provisional adoption of three articles during the initial negotiation meeting in 2003, including one that affirms that indigenous peoples have collective rights.  Another positive result was the U.S. State Department's decision  to participate in a consultation over the draft Declaration with several indigenous nations, for which the Navajo Nation and the Six Nations solicited the Center's assistance.