Statement by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda Australian Human Rights Commission

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Statement by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda Australian Human Rights Commission

to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

9-13 July 2012, Geneva

Item 6: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Thank you Mister Chair

I make the following statement in my capacity as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner on behalf of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Australia’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI).

Firstly, I would like to commend the Expert Mechanism’s work to advance the full implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly its work on clarifying specific core principles including that of self-determination and free, prior and informed consent. I also note the contribution of the questionnaire disseminated to States seeking their views on best practices regarding possible appropriate measures and implementation strategies in order to attain the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Tools such as this assist in progressing critical dialogues that need to happen between Indigenous peoples and States in identifying the barriers to the full implementation of the Declaration at the national level; but they also provide an assessment framework through which States can self-assess their progress towards achieving the ends of the Declaration. For example, the Universal Periodic Review should require States to provide a response on the implementation of the Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. This questionnaire provides a guide to states to report on their progress on implementation of the Declaration to the Universal Periodic Review.

I note at this time Mr Chair my disappointment the Australian Government's response to the Expert Mechanisms questionnaire was not been received by the EMRIP Secretariat in time to inform this Study. Unfortunately this tardiness is reflective of the level of engagement at the national level in Australia on the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples . The Australian Governments support for the Declaration is listed within Australia’s Human Rights Framework as a demonstration of its ongoing commitment to international human rights protection^[1] , however the Government continues to promote the Declaration as aspirational only. The Australian Government also asserts that its policies and legislation are compliant with the Declaration, however to date a national assessment on compliance with the Declaration has not be conducted and Australia’s recent appearance before a number of the United Nations Treaty Bodies including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Universal Periodic Review have raised concerns about the protection and realisation of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.

Mister Chair

A foundational belief enunciated in the Declaration’s pre-amble refers to the prohibitive impact that the denial of Indigenous peoples’ rights has on meaningful advancements in State-Indigenous relations. NHRI’s, in this sense, provide a valuable framework for forging better communication between the State and individual voices of Indigenous communities around Australia.

In terms of my role as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner within the Australian Human Rights Commissions, my priorities are underpinned by the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has also commenced discussions with the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, the Indigenous Peoples Organisations Network of Australia, and the Australian Government about progressing a National Strategy on the Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The proposed strategy will incorporate the findings of a National Survey on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a number of dialogue round tables with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Australian governments into a draft implementation strategy to be finalised at a National Summit on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In addition to developing a co-ordinated approach to realising the rights outlined within the Declaration, the Commission has identified four pillars of the Declaration that will require further discussion and negotiation in order to get to a position that will result in meaningful outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and give full effect to the Declaration. These pillars include: self-determination; free, prior and informed consent and the right to participate in decisions that affect us; the promotion and protection of culture; and equality and non-discrimination.

Discussions between States and Indigenous peoples about the application of these core principles at the national level are critical if we are to overcome barriers to implementation.

Unfortunately, outside of those engaging in forums such as this, many Indigenous peoples remain largely un-informed about their rights as asserted in the Declaration. The lack of knowledge and understanding surrounding the rights espoused in the Declaration precludes development of meaningful national strategies to ensure its full implementation.

In order to build capacity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to engage with the Declaration, Oxfam and the Christensen Fund provided funding support for the Commission to produce a suite of community educative materials. These materials have been designed specifically to assist with increasing the knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities about their rights and the Declaration.

The initial phase of this project has illuminated the usefulness such educative tools to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; however, sustained and ongoing engagement is necessary to catalyse large-scale participation in the future development of policy surrounding the Declaration’s implementation.

Recommendations

We recommend that:

1. The Expert Mechanism follow up with those States who did not respond to the Questionnaire in order to fully assess progress towards the implementation of the Declaration globally.
2. The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples conduct a similar study with Indigenous peoples with regard to their approaches to implementing the Declaration within their communities.
3. The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples encourage the Human Rights Council to include a specific requirement to report on the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples during the Universal Periodic Review process.