Indigenous Peoples' Preparatory Meeting Declaration of Principles submitted to the UNWGIP 5th Session, July 1987
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DOCUMENT: IPPM_87.TXT


                INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' PREPARATORY MEETING 

                          Palais des Nations  
                        27 July - 31 July 1987

                       DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES

     (Submitted to the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous 
     Populations - Fifth Session, by the Indigenous Peoples' 
     Preparatory Meeting.)  
     
     1.   Indigenous Nations and peoples have, in common with all 
          humanity, the right to life, and to freedom from 
          oppression, discrimination, and aggression. 

     2.   All Indigenous Nations and peoples have the right to 
          self-determination, by virtue of which they have the 
          right to whatever degree of autonomy or self government 
          they choose. This includes the right to freely 
          determine their political status, freely pursue their 
          own economic, social, religious and cultural 
          development, and determine their own membership and/or 
          citizenship, without external interference. 

     3.   No State shall assert any jurisdiction over an 
          Indigenous Nation and people, or its territory, except 
          in accordance with the freely expressed wishes of the 
          Nation and people concerned 

     4.   Indigenous Nations and peoples are entitled to the 
          permanent control and enjoyment of their aboriginal 
          ancestral-historical territories. This includes air 
          space, surface and subsurface rights, inland and 
          coastal waters, sea ice, renewable and non-renewable 
          resources, and the economies based on these resources. 

     5.   Rights to share and use land, subject to the underlying 
          and inalienable title of the Indigenous Nation or 
          people, may be granted by their free and informed 
          consent, as evidenced in a valid treaty or agreement. 

     6.   Discovery, conquest, settlement on a theory of terra 
          nullius and unilateral legislation are never legitimate 
          basis for States to claim or retain the territories of 
          Indigenous Nations or peoples. 

     7.   In cases where lands taken in violation of these 
          principles have already been settled, the Indigenous 
          Nation or people concerned is entitled to immediate 
          restitution, including compensation for the loss of 
          use, without extinction [sic] of original title. 
          Indigenous peoples' right to regain possession and 
          control of sacred sites must always be respected. 

     8.   No State shall participate financially or militarily in 
          the involuntary displacement of indigenous populations, 
          or in the subsequent economic exploitation or military 
          use of their territory. 

     9.   The laws and customs of Indigenous Nations and peoples 
          must be recognized by States' legislative, 
          administrative and judicial institutions and, in case 
          of conflicts with State lasts, shall take precedence. 

     10.  No State shall deny an Indigenous Nation, community, or 
          people residing within its borders the right to 
          participate in the life of the State in whatever manner 
          and to whatever degree they may choose. This includes 
          the right to participate in other form of collective 
          action and expression. 

     11.  Indigenous Nations and peoples continue to awn and 
          control their material culture including 
          archaeological, historical and sacred sites, artifacts, 
          designs, knowledge, and works of art. They have the 
          right to regain items of major cultural significance 
          and, in an cases, to the return of the human remains of 
          their ancestors for burial according with [sic] their 
          traditions 

     12.  Indigenous Nations and peoples have the right to 
          education, and the control of education, and to conduct 
          business with States in their own languages, and lo 
          establish their own educational institutions. 
     
     13.  No technical, scientific or social investigations, 
          including archaeological excavations, shall take place 
          in relation to Indigenous Nations or peoples, or their 
          lands, without their prior authorization, and their 
          continuing ownership and control. 
     
     14.  The religious practices of Indigenous Nations and 
          peoples shall be fully respected and protected by the 
          laws of States and by international law. Indigenous 
          Nations and peoples shall always enjoy unrestricted 
          access to, and enjoyment of sacred sites in accordance 
          with their own laws and customs, including the right of 
          privacy. 
     
     15.  Indigenous Nations and peoples are subjects of 
          international law. 
     
     16.  Treaties and other agreements freely made with 
          Indigenous Nations or peoples shall be recognized and 
          applied in the same manner and according to the same 
          international laws and principles as treaties and 
          agreement[s] entered into with other States. 
     
     17.  Disputes regarding the jurisdiction, territories and 
          institutions of an Indigenous Nation or peoples are a 
          proper concern of international law, and must be 
          resolved by mutual agreement or valid treaty. 
     
     18.  Indigenous Nations and peoples may engage in self-
          defense against State actions in conflict with their 
          right to self-determination. 
     
     19.  Indigenous Nations and peoples have the right freely to 
          travel, and to maintain economic, social, cultural and 
          religious relations with each other across State 
          borders.
     
     20.  In addition to these rights, Indigenous Nations and 
          peoples are entitled to the enjoyment of all the human 
          rights and fundamental freedoms enumerated in the 
          International Bill of Human Rights and other United 
          Nations instruments. In no circumstances shall they be 
          subjected to adverse discrimination. 
     
     21.  All Indigenous Nations and peoples have the right to 
          their awn traditional medicine, including the right to 
          the protection of vital medicinal plants, animals and 
          minerals. Indigenous Nations and peoples also have the 
          right to benefit from modern medical techniques and 
          services on a basis equal to that of the general 
          population of the States within which they are located. 
          Furthermore, all Indigenous Nations and peoples have 
          the right to determine, plan, implement, and control 
          the resources respecting health, housing, and other 
          social services affecting them. 
     
      22. According to the right of self-determination, all 
          Indigenous Nations and peoples shall not be obligated 
          lo participate in State military services, including 
          armies, paramilitary or "civil" organizations with 
          military structure, within the country or in 
          international conflicts. 

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