Concept
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including their ownership rights to cultural and ceremonial expression, identity, language, employment, health, education, and other issues. Their ownership also extends to the protection of their intellectual and cultural property. The Declaration "emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations." It "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples," and it "promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development". The goal of the declaration is to encourage countries to work alongside indigenous peoples to solve global issues, such as development, multicultural democracy, and decentralization. On Thursday, September 13, 2007, the United Nations voted by a vast majority of 143 in favor (4 against, 11 abstained, and 34 absent) of the Declaration. Since 2007, the four countries voting against have reversed their position and now support the Declaration. As of February 2020, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Indigenous Peoples describe (A/RES/61/295) as "...the most comprehensive international instrument on the rights of indigenous peoples. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world and it elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to the specific situation of indigenous peoples." As a General Assembly Declaration, UNDRIP is not a legally binding instrument under international law.
