A/HRC/21/24 accreditation as a non-governing organization, that organization may choose not to do so. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples expresses indigenous peoples’ right to self-governance in a number of articles, including article 3, on the right to self-determination, and article 4, on the right to autonomy. Difficulties faced by indigenous peoples’ organizations in meeting the criteria for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council B. 10. Many indigenous peoples’ organizations can find it difficult to meet the criteria for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council as non-governmental organizations. Two examples are given below: (a) In resolution 1996/31, the Economic and Social Council set down principles to be applied in establishing consultative relations with non-governmental organizations. Pursuant to principle 9, a non-governmental organization should have “recognized standing” if it is to obtain consultative status. According to principle 10, it is to have an established headquarters, with an executive officer. In addition, the Internet application process requires an organization to provide a copy of its constitution/charter and/or statutes/by-laws and amendments to those documents (pursuant to principle 10) and a copy or certificate of registration. Furthermore, an organization should attest that it has been in existence for at least two years as at the date of receipt of the application by the Secretariat. An organization is also required to provide a financial statement or annual report.2 Some indigenous peoples’ organizations cannot register themselves owing to their unique constitution and others may not be recognized by the State. Some such organizations located within indigenous communities may have no headquarters and may not be organized in such a way as to have an executive officer. Moreover, oral traditions, rather than written documentation, may provide for the functioning of indigenous peoples’ organizations; (b) It is stated in principle 22 of resolution 1996/31 that, to be eligible for general consultative status, organizations must be broadly representative of major segments of society in a large number of countries in different regions of the world. Indigenous peoples’ organizations that represent particular indigenous peoples are likely to be representative of an indigenous segment of society and rarely in a large number of countries in different regions of the world, however. 11. Where indigenous peoples’ organizations have not obtained or are ineligible to obtain consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, or have not received an invitation to participate or have chosen not to participate as a part of a State delegation, these organizations have been unable to participate in important United Nations meetings and events on issues of direct relevance to them. Recent examples include sessions of the Human Rights Council and the Economic and Social Council, including in relation to the human rights issues facing indigenous peoples. For example, indigenous peoples’ organizations without consultative status with the Economic and Social Council could not participate in a panel held during the eighteenth session of the Human Rights Council that focused on indigenous peoples’ languages and cultures and the Human Rights Council’s interactive dialogue with the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. In the past, indigenous peoples’ organizations that were not accredited to the Economic and Social Council could not enter the United Nations buildings in New York when the draft declaration on the rights of 2 See http://csonet.org/index.php?menu=34. 5