International Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People - Essay Example

International Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People: Australian Context By: Professor: Class: University: City: State: Date of submission: International Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People: Australian Context Introduction The International Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People is an international human rights instrument responsible for setting international standards required for the protection of the indigenous rights (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010, 15). The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on September 13th after two decades of discussions within the UN system. The Declaration represents significant achievement for the indigenous people across the globe. Although the declaration is an inspiration document in the protection of the rights of the ingenious people, it does not legally bind the states. Therefore, the Declaration does not impose any legal obligation on the countries or governments, which makes violation of its terms not resulting into any legal action. As a result, the outlined standards within the Declaration are difficult to enforce especially on the countries that do value the rights of the indigenous people. However, the Declaration carries with it considerable moral force that the states have to adhere to. The Declaration recognizes an array of basic human rights and significant freedoms of the indigenous people. These rights include the right to self-determination, which requires the indigenous people to have the rights of making their decisions on the issues concerning them without interference and the rights to cultural identity, which requires the indigenous people to have equal rights to others and the rights to be different and culturally dissimilar. Other vital rights enshrined in the document is the right to free, prior, and informed consent. These require consultation of the indigenous people while making decisions on the matters affecting them and ensuring they have relevant information before anything happens and the rights to be free from any form of discrimination (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010, 55). From the latter, it is vital that the government ensure that the indigenous populations are treated properly irrespective of the sex, religion, and disability. Declaration within Australian Context Within the Australian context, the Declaration recognizes the collective rights of the indigenous people to various factors including lands and other natural resources and fair and adequate compensation for any dispossession considered wrongful. During voting, 144 states voted in favour of the declaration. However, under the Howard Government, Australia was one of the states that voted against the Declaration alongside countries such the United States, New Zealand, and Canada. As a result, such decision makes Australia not to be a signatory to the Declaration. With the increasing level of understanding on indigenous people and value for respect of others, the Rudd government changed the status quo and formally endorsed the Declaration on April 3rd, 2009 (Levangie, 2008, 133). Although the decision made by Australia in supporting the Declaration is a vital step in ensuring the protection of the indigenous people, the value of human rights does not lie in their existence rather in the implementation, which also makes the challenge for the states using the declaration. Therefore, the Declaration only sets the required standard, but it is the responsibility of the respective country to meet such standards. In Australia, the adoption of the Declaration is a clear indication that the country and international community is dedicated to safeguarding the collective and individual rights of the indigenous people. Through the support of the Declaration by the Federal government, there is substantial addition to the foundation for the new partnership between the Australian Federal government, Torres Strait Islander People, and the Aboriginal. The government is committing itself to a framework that ensures there is respect for the rights of the indigenous people and creating equal opportunity for all the Australians. However, the main challenge for the government lies in building high level of understanding the Declaration among other officials of the government, Torres Strait Islander communities, and Aboriginal with an aim of giving meaning and content of the provisions (Allen & Xanthaki, 2011, 121). The major strength of the Declaration was that it provided various sets of objectives, which are endorsed internationally in guiding the relationship with the indigenous people and promoting the actions that ensure the existence of respect and protection of the culture of the indigenous cultures. However, it should be clear that on any measure, the Australian indigenous communities such as Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people remain marginalized within the country and facing entrenched poverty and ongoing high level of discrimination. Australia could put the Declaration into immediate used through provision of guidance and clear minimum standards of helping the government in addressing various elements of discrimination that remain within the Northern Territory intervention. Majority of Australians are emphasizing on the importance of the current settlement in supporting the Declaration. It vital to acknowledge that the statement of support from the government followed other significant steps taken towards resetting its relationship and the Australian indigenous communities (National Indigenous Health Equality Summit, & Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008, 112). The measures undertaken by the Australian government to ensure successful implementation of the Declaration include the following. Making the National Apology, provision of substantial funding with an aim of closing the life expectancy gap for the indigenous communities, and committing to the establishment of the new national representative body for the indigenous communities (Behrendt, 2012, 145). While there are substantial challenge remains for the Australia’s indigenous communities, supporting the Declaration could assist in unleashing the potential of Australia to be the global leader on the manner in which it engage with the indigenous communities. Moreover, through supporting the declaration, Australia would be assisting in international fight against discrimination and racism and firmly establish the leadership role of Australia in the international human right system. Effectiveness of the Declaration in Australia Most of the rights the Declaration outlines are recognized and protected already in Australia through the existing domestic laws or support for different international conventions and treaties. In other words, the Declaration does not suggest any special rights for the indigenous people but draws various existing rights from other international laws and conventions including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Moreover, the Declaration explains the manner of applying the Declaration to the indigenous people (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, National Native Title Council, & Native Title Conference, 2010, 97). As a result, the Declaration requires the country to pay attention to treating seriously the rights of the indigenous people as the rights of the citizens. One of the rights stated in the Declaration is the right of the indigenous people to take part in the making decision, especially on the matters affecting their rights through their representatives. Following the endorsement of the Declaration, the Australian government committed itself in supporting the creation by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, which is national Indigenous representative body. Moreover, in 2010, the government established the National Congress of Australia’s First People’s with an aim of providing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the voice on matter of national affair and development of the policy. Additionally, the Declaration also affirms to the free, informed, and prior consent. Practically, such right means that while legislating various laws or conducting the activities affecting the indigenous people, it is vital that the government and other related parties negotiate with the indigenous people with an aim of obtaining their consent. Through working in such a manner, the Australian government and the indigenous people could work together on equal terms with the objective of arriving at the mutual solutions and agreements acceptable to both the parties (Charters & Stavenhagen, 2009, 214). There are several guiding principles within the Declaration that could assist the indigenous and other Australians to operate in a deferential and effective manner and with greater level of understanding. In Australia, the constitution is the founding political and legal document guiding various operations. The constitution underpins the Australian government system and Federal laws. Written more than a century ago, the constitution is shaped by values and beliefs; however, the Australian government failed to consider the input from the indigenous communities. The constitution does not still recognize the indigenous as the country’s first people, which makes the Australia’s constitution to allow discrimination. However, with the growth in pressure from the globe and international treaties such as the Declaration, the Australians managed to update the constitution reflecting the current Australia (Harris-Short, 2012, 107). Most Australians felt the need of amending the constitution with an aim of securing better treatment for the indigenous people and ensuring adequate protection of their unique culture, spiritual connection to the land, and languages. Achievement of the Declaration Through the years, the Australia’s indigenous people have been disadvantaged. However, the Australian government aim at addressing the indigenous disadvantage using an overarching approach using its strategy termed as Closing the Gap. Through government is accountable to all the Australians through the Prime Minister’s Closing Gap usually tabled in parliament on yearly basis. The major step was the decision by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2007 to agree in partnership at various state levels with the objective of working with the indigenous communities and achieving the target of Closing the Gap within the indigenous disadvantage (Healey, 2014, 97). The implementation of the COAG reform agenda takes place through the National Partnership, National Agreements, and Intergovernmental Agreements. Besides the Declaration, the Australian government through the National Indigenous Reform Agreement have been sharing the responsibilities involved in Closing the Gap experienced by the indigenous communities. The key areas that the government has been trying to reduce the gap include economic participation, life expectancy, child mortality, literacy, and numeracy, education attainment, access to early childhood education, and child mortality. The principles contained in the Declaration are consistent with Australian efforts and approach in Closing the Gap. Through ensuring adequate partnership with other States and Territories, the Australian government is making different unprecedented efforts of bringing long-term positive outcomes for the indigenous communities. Moreover, the government uses more than $5.2 billion to fund employment, community safety and development, education, and health services of the indigenous. Furthermore, the Australian government is committed to work with various stakeholders in achieving important outcomes for the indigenous Australians. More importantly, Australia supported a proposal of organizing the World Conference on Indigenous People at the Third Committee of United Nations General Assembly. The meeting aimed at sharing various perspectives and vital practices meant for the realization of the rights of the indigenous people including following the objectives of the Declaration. The government also acknowledges the significance of ensuring economic participation for the indigenous people including various principles of Declaration. To upsurge the participation level of the indigenous people within the economy, the Australian government developed the Indigenous Economic Development Strategy (IEDS 2011-2018) with the purpose of providing the whole-of-government framework for establishment of actions for the future, programmes, and policies meant for the indigenous economic development. Moreover, the strategy is part of the wider Closing the Gap used by the COAG. The IEDS aims at supporting the rights of the indigenous people to ensure that they participate in the development of the Australia economically, financially, and socially (Barelli, 2016, 198). The strategy resulted from the extensive consultation with the indigenous people at the state levels. The Australian government undertook different approaches considered vital for establishment of the resourced overarching approach meant to address the disadvantages of the indigenous people undertaken through Closing the Gap strategy. Conclusion The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a product of the United Nations and a non-binding document responsible for setting the international standards for human rights applicable for the recognition and protection of the rights of the indigenous people. The essay focused on the application of the Declaration within the Australian context. The approach used by Australian government to promote respect, recognition, language, and their culture which is good way of pursuing the set objectives from the Declaration and Closing the Gap strategy. Through preservation of the indigenous language, the practice could be the best measure within the Australian context as it assists in resetting the relationship between the government and the indigenous people of Australia. Through the report, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage in 2011, the government established that the indigenous language, culture, and law are associated with the wellbeing of the indigenous people. Moreover, data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics also confirmed that there is evidence linking the relationship between wellbeing and speaking the language of the indigenous people. In the year 2009, the Australian government made an announcement of the National Indigenous Language, which aims at bringing to Australians the attention of the indigenous language, and restoring the use of the rarely spoken indigenous languages. Furthermore, the policy aim at supporting and maintaining indigenous language within the schools, strengthening of the pride in the culture and identity of the people, and reinforcing the use of the indigenous language. References Allen, S., & Xanthaki, A. (2011). Reflections on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Reflections on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Australian Human Rights Commission. (2010). The community guide to the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Sydney: Author. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, National Native Title Council, & Native Title Conference. (2010). People, place, power: Native Title Conference 2010 : goothas, ngura, moonon : 1-3 June National Convention Centre Canberra. Canberra: AIATSIS. Barelli, M. (2016). Seeking justice in international law: The significance and implications of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Abingdon, NY: Routledge. Behrendt, L. (2012). Indigenous Australia for dummies. Richmond, Vic: John Wiley & Sons. Charters, C., & Stavenhagen, R. (2009). Making the Declaration work: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Copenhagen: IWGIA. Harris-Short, S. (2012). Aboriginal child welfare, self-government and the rights of indigenous children: Protecting the vulnerable under international law. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. Healey, J. (2014). Indigenous rights. Thirroul, N.S.W: The Spinney Press. Levangie, S. (2008). Globalized native politics: Negotiating the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller. National Indigenous Health Equality Summit, & Australian Human Rights Commission. (2008). Closethegap: Indigenous Health Equality Summit, statement of intent. Canberra: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Read More