On the right to means of subsistence and to development

RIGHTS AIPP AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP LINKS The rights of indigenous peoples and their contribution to the conservation of biodi- versity has been explicitly recognized in Agenda 21 adopted at the World Conservation Congress in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in particular article 8j.

5. On land, territory, resources and the right to self-determination

Inseparably linked to the recognition of the right to land, territory and resources are provi- sions for basic rights to self-determination, representation and decision-making. These are more extensively dealt with in a separate module on self-determination. They include the following. Article 18 Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision-making institu- tions. Article 19 States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may af- fect them. LINKS The UNDRIP is so far the only international legal instrument that explicitly recognizes indigenous peoples’ territorial rights and right to self-determination. Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, however, upholds the self-determination of peoples as one of the UN’s basic principles. According to the Charter, the second purpose of the UN is: To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace. Indigenous peoples have ever since fought hard to be equally recognized as peoples, and therefore be granted the right to self-determination.