September 20, 2017 | Geneva, Switzerland
The UN Human Rights Council held its annual half-day panel discussion today on the rights of indigenous peoples under the theme “Tenth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Karla General, Attorney at Indian Law Resource Center, highlighted the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a historic achievement and the most significant development in international human rights law in decades. And yet, many challenges remained ahead. In 2017, authentic and representative indigenous voices were still denied access to the United Nations. Without indigenous voices, decisions made in international forums would not be responsive to the lived realities of indigenous peoples at home, Ms. General stressed.