The UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
Implications for 21st Century Statistics
John Taylor
Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
Research School of Social Sciences
Banyjima view of wellbeing
“Life is a bit better out here because of mining and those agreements.
But my thing is my own kids, we’re not pushing them into what we
want them to be. They can go and work in the mine, but they will be
men and will have kids of their own, and they need to be there for
their own kids to teach them their culture. Because it’s about carrying
on the traditional cultural ways teaching knowledge skills, the
language, going to ceremony, going out on country. Some of those
mining men aren’t there for all that and that’s no good”
(Banyjima elder, 2004)
UN Declaration Article 42
Article 42
The United Nations, it bodies, including the Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues, and specialized agencies, including at
the country-level, [and States] shall promote respect for and full
application of the provisions of this Declaration and follow up
the effectiveness of this Declaration.
The implementation gap
“If the Declaration is going to be effectively utilised in the
promotion and protection of the human rights of Indigenous
peoples it will need to be clearly understood by States and
Indigenous peoples, and these parties will need to design and
execute strategies to ensure that Indigenous peoples enjoy the
benefit of those rights”.
Malezar, 2009
UN Declaration Articles 18, 19 and 23
Article 18
Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in
matters that would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by
themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as maintain and
develop their own indigenous decision-making institutions.
Article 19
States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples
concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain
free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing
legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.
Article 23
Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and
strategies for exercising their right to development. In particular, indigenous
peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining
health, housing, and other economic and social programmes affecting them
and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own
institutions.
COAG Views on Engagement &
Partnerships
‘Effective engagement with Indigenous communities is critical to
ensuring that Indigenous people’s needs and aspirations are built into
the planning and implementation of initiatives agreed by COAG’
‘Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the
development of implementation plans is critical as their input, ideas
and solutions will contribute to the overall success and sustainability
of the reforms. Their active participation is integral to the effective
design and implementation of the measures’
‘As bilateral and local implementation plans are developed, it will be
important to ensure that appropriate structures are established to
facilitate local level community engagement and partnerships,
collaborative decision making and ownership of implementation’
(COAG National indigenous Reform Agenda 2008: A-31).
Fitzroy Valley Cadastral Geography
Fitzroy Valley Cultural Geography
Rights-based statistics for Indigenous
Community Governance
• Cultural geography (clans, language groups, incorporated polities)
• Decision-making (customised data base/targeting)
• Organisational performance (service delivery outcomes)
• Strategic direction (needs analysis/projection)
• Participation and voice (local enumerators/priority indicators/governing up)
• Governance environment (fiscal flows/cost structures)
• Governance capacity (statistical training and local skilling)
Implications of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• Recognise that it has implications beyond existing collections
• Determine who the Indigenous ‘peoples’ are
Agreements, Treaties & Negotiated Settlements (ATNS) database
National Native Title Tribunal
Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations
• Establish what they want to measure
• Consider how this might be done
• Provide advice, support and training as required
• Establish an Indigenous Governance Statistical Support Unit?
• Whose responsibility? ABS, FAHCSIA…..?