International Standards and Policies regarding Indigenous Peoples

27 January 2004

The international indigenous rights movement now relies on a number of treaties and covenants which protect their political, economic, social and cultural rights. Indigenous organizations around the world are using these standards to argue that the World Bank and other IFIs strengthen their language to meet international standards.

A few of the most important examples of these international standards are as follows:

• The International Labor Organization Convention 169 (UN website)
• UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Acrobat pdf 160 KB)
• American Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (US State Department website)
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD website)

Expect additional development of this page as BIC becomes increasingly involved in this arena...