A/HRC/21/55
(b)
All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth
and resources…In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence;
(c)
The States Parties to the present Covenant…shall promote the realization of
the right of self-determination [emphasis added].
10.
The Human Rights Committee has called upon States to act in accordance with
article 1, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
emphasizing, in relation to indigenous peoples, that “the right to self-determination
requires, inter alia, that all peoples must be able to freely dispose of their natural wealth and
resources and that they may not be deprived of their own means of subsistence”. 5
11.
While only paragraph 1 of common article 1 of the Covenants appears in article 3 of
the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the content of
paragraphs 2 and 3 of common article 1 are found in articles 23 and 32 of the Declaration.
Further, article 3 needs to be read together with a cluster of articles (10, 11, 12, 20 and 2531) in the Declaration, which generally relate to lands, territories and resources. Article 3
must also be read in the light of the articles specific to extractive industries, which include
article 26, article 28 and, of particular importance, article 32. The latter article provides
protection analogous to that provided under common article 1, paragraphs 2 and 3, ensuring
that the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples is obtained prior to approval
of the use by private industries of indigenous peoples‟ lands, territories and resources.
12.
Furthermore, treaties and treaty principles must be considered in the development of
extractive industries, consistent with both the Declaration on the Right to Development and
preambular paragraphs 7, 8, 14, 15 and articles 3, 32 and 37 of the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as stated by the Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues in its report on its ninth session (E/2010/43-E/C.19/2010/15, para. 7).
13.
Related to this, international law has developed a clear principle of the right of
indigenous peoples to permanent sovereignty over natural resources. This is based, inter
alia, on common article 1, paragraph 2, of the two International Covenants on Human
Rights and on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The
principle of permanent sovereignty is an integral part of the right of self-determination of
indigenous peoples; in recognition thereof, the Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples‟
permanent sovereignty over natural resources noted that “nowadays the right to selfdetermination includes a range of alternatives including the right to participate in the
governance of the State as well as the right to various forms of autonomy and selfgovernance. In order to be meaningful, this modern concept of self-determination must
logically and legally carry with it the essential right of permanent sovereignty over natural
resources” (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2004/30, para. 17).
14.
Recognition of indigenous peoples‟ permanent sovereignty over lands, territories
and resources is a prerequisite for “meaningful political and economic self-determination of
indigenous peoples” (ibid., para. 8).
2.
Sustainable development and environmental responsibility and rights
15.
Globally, a fundamental concern of indigenous peoples regarding extractive industry
development, in addition to that of the dispossession of their lands, territories and
resources, has been the ensuing unsustainable development and environmental degradation.
5
See, for example, the Committee‟s concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Canada
(CCPR/C/79/Add.105), para. 8.
5
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