The international arena is an important part of the advocacy efforts of the Indigenous Peoples’ movement. This is because many international policies affect the lives of Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia.
AMAN in the International Arena
In this regard AMAN participates and has become a member of indigenous peoples’ international networks, such as:
- Asian Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)
- International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Rain Forest (IAITPRF)
- The International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
These are involved in the processes of international negotiation related to the interests and rights of Indigenous Peoples such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the UN-Permanent Forum on Indigenous Affairs (UNPFII).
On many occasions, AMAN has continued to apply pressure to various international financial institutions such as ADB, the World Bank and the IMF to make changes to their policies and operations in Indonesia.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
One result of the collective struggle at the international level by indigenous peoples' organisations and their NGO supporters has been the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) at the UN General Assembly in New York on 13 September 2009.
For AMAN, as well as other Indigenous Peoples’ organisations from around the world who struggled for more than 23 years in the United Nations, the ratification of this Declaration is a historic milestone.
Although the process of drafting and discussion of the contents of this Declaration began in 1994, the Working Group drafted a new Declaration, successfully completing its task and submitting the results to the UN Commission on Human Rights in February 2006.
On June 29, 2006, the first session the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the Declaration is to vote in favor of 30 countries, 12 countries abstained and did not support the 2 countries (Canada, Russia).
The declaration was then discussed and ratified in the UN General Assembly in New York on September 13, 2007 with votes of 144 countries, 11 countries abstained, 4 countries were against (Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand) and 30 countries absent. Australia and New Zealand have since reversed their position to endorse the Declaration.
Indonesia is a UN member state which consistently voted to support and participated in the ratification with the signatories of this Declaration at the Human Rights Council meetings and the UN General Assembly.
As an international minimum standard for the protection, respect and fulfillment of human rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Declaration emphasised that the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples, among others, most importantly, are:
- The right to determine their own destiny
- The right to lands, territories and natural resources
- Rights to cultural identity and intellectual property
- The right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)
- The right to select models and other forms of development which is suitable in their own context.
AMAN has translated the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Indonesian to distribute to Indigenous Peoples and other actors.
