UNDRIP, agreed to, by almost all nation-states on Mother Earth, has never been honored, by the colonial nation-states impacted, as is the case of almost every treaty made between Indigenous Peoples and Colonial Nation-States.
The Union of the Condor, Quetzal, and Eagle, via the Indigenous-led, Global Digital Commission on Justice and Healing, will do the very best to ensure that UNDRIP is honored, as agreed to, by all concerned. We will move forward and act as if UNDRIP honored, in Spirit and Intent, by all concerned!
As my Dekshi Vine Jr. always said: " If you are Sovereign then you need to act and be Sovereign. "
The first draft of UNDRIP was constructed in 1977 by the International Indian Treaty Council IITC, a Non-Governmental Organization NGO formed by the American Indian Movement, in 1975, at Standing Rock. IITC made an Intervention at the United Nations in Geneva stating we Indigenous peoples are the only group in the world that do not have a Declaration that pertains to our Indigenous rights.
Then other Indigenous Nations around the world joined in and the work began in developing UNDRIP. Since then there have been numerous lawyers undertaking a review of the document for their perspective Nations and the document went through decades of review and tweaking.
For the record, no lawyer can claim they were the architect of this document. It was a collective effort.
Draft Declarations of Principles for the Defense of the Indigenous Nations and Peoples of the Western Hemisphere:
(1) Recognition of Indigenous nations: Indigenous people shall be accorded recognition as nations, and proper subjects of international law, provided the people concerned desire to be recognized as a nation and meet the fundament requirement of nationhood, namely:
(a) having a permanent population;
(b) having a defined territory;
(c) having a government;
(d) having the ability to enter into relations with other states.
(2) Subjects of International Law: Indigenous groups not meeting the requirements of nationhood are hereby declared to be subjects of international law and are entitled to the protection of this Declaration, provided they are identifiable groups having bonds of language, heritage, tradition, or other common identities.
(3) Guarantee of Rights: No indigenous nation or group shall be deemed to have fewer rights or lesser status for the sole reason that the nation or group has not entered into recorded treaties or agreements with any state.
(4) Accordance of Independence: Indigenous nations or groups shall be accorded such degree of independence as they may desire in accordance with international law.
(5) Treaties and Agreements: Treaties and other agreements entered into by indigenous nations or groups with other states, whether denominated as treaties or otherwise, shall be recognized and applied in the same manner and according to the same international laws and principles as the treaties and agreements entered into by their states.
(6) Abrogation of Treaties and other Rights: Treaties and agreements made with indigenous nations or groups shall not be subject to unilateral abrogation. In no event may the municipal laws of any state serve as a defense to the failure to adhere to and perform the terms of treaties and agreements made with indigenous nations or groups. Nor shall any state refuse to recognize and adhere to treaties or other agreements due to changed circumstances where the change in circumstances has been substantially caused by the state asserting that such change has occurred.
(7) Jurisdiction: No state shall assert or claim to exercise any right of jurisdiction over any indigenous nation or group unless pursuant to a valid treaty or other agreement freely made with the lawful representatives of the indigenous nation or group concerned. All actions on the part of any state which derogate from the indigenous nations’ or groups’ right to exercise self-determination shall be the proper concern of existing international bodies.
(8) Claims to Territory: No state shall claim or retain, by right of discovery or otherwise, the territories of an indigenous nation or group, except such lands as may have been lawfully acquired by valid treaty or other cessation freely made.
(9) Settlement of Disputes: All states in the Western hemisphere shall establish through negotiations or other appropriate means a procedure for the binding settlement of disputes, claims, or other matters relating to indigenous nations or groups. Such procedures shall be mutually acceptable to the parties, fundamentally fair, and consistent with international law. All procedures presently in existence that do not have the endorsement of the indigenous nations or groups concerned, shall be ended, and new procedures shall be instituted consistent with this Declaration.
(10) National and Cultural Integrity: It shall be unlawful for any state to take or permit any action or course of conduct with respect to an indigenous nation or group which will directly or indirectly result in the destruction or disintegration of such indigenous nation or group or otherwise threaten the national or cultural integrity of such nation or group, including, but not limited to, the imposition and support of illegitimate governments and the introduction of non-indigenous religions to indigenous peoples by non-indigenous missionaries.
(11) Environmental Protection: It shall be unlawful for any state to make or permit any action or course of conduct with respect to the territories of an indigenous nation or group which will directly or indirectly result in the destruction or deterioration of an indigenous nation or group through the effects of pollution of the earth, air, water, or which in any way depletes, displaces or destroys any natural resources or other resources under the dominion of, or vital livelihood of an indigenous nation or group.
(12) Indigenous Membership: No state, through legislation, regulation, or other means, shall take actions that interfere with the sovereign power of an indigenous nation or group to determine its own membership.
(13) Conclusion: All of the rights and obligations declared herein shall be in addition to all rights and obligations existing under international la
