Canada position as a champion of human rights in question at UN
From http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061116.INDIGENOUS16/TPStory/?query=aboriginal
Ottawa's rejection of native-rights declaration 'sad' - BILL CURRY - POSTED ON 16/11/06
OTTAWA -- Canada's reputation as a human-rights leader will be smeared when it votes against a declaration on indigenous rights, warns the chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz said it is "very sad" that Canadian officials have gone from active supporters to strong opponents of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which could be put to a final vote as early as next week in New York.
"Canada has a substantial number of indigenous peoples, and having the reputation of being a champion of human rights, will definitely be smeared by this act that they are going to take," she said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
Ms. Tauli-Corpuz, a career advocate of indigenous rights in the Philippines, was elected as chair of the 16-member United Nations advisory group.
Canadian native leaders and all three federal opposition parties are accusing the Conservative government of harming Canada's reputation by reversing its position on the declaration, which has been discussed for more than 20 years and will finally come to a vote by the full United Nations as early as next week. It is one of the first two declarations to come out of the new Human Rights Council, which was established in May after strong support from Canada.
The declaration calls for the recognition that indigenous peoples be free from discrimination and provides an extensive list of rights that governments should extend.
But a Canadian official who has been involved in the international talks since 1984 said Ottawa's position has been consistent from the Liberal to Conservative governments.
Canada made a host of specific objections at a December, 2005, meeting when the Liberals were still in office, and when the final text did not address those concerns, the government of today decided to oppose the declaration.
"I can tell you definitely that the wording of [the section dealing with land rights] did not reflect the suggestions we put forward," said Fred Caron, an assistant deputy minister with Indian Affairs.
Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice, who was not available for an interview, has said one of his main concerns is the line referred to by Mr. Caron, which states, "Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories, and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise acquired." In a detailed explanation posted on the Indian Affairs website, department officials argue that such wording is so broad that it could lead courts to interpret it as a native right to reopen land claims that have already been negotiated and settled.
Other concerns are that a duty to consult and obtain "free and prior consent" on issues that have an impact on indigenous peoples are so unclear that they could impede Parliament's ability to legislate in areas of native policy by granting a veto to undefined native groups. Wording dealing with "self-determination" could also be interpreted to allow native communities the right to full statehood, officials argue.
Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, is in New York this week lobbying other countries to ensure the declaration will pass. He insists Canada did change its position.
"We witnessed the 180-degree shift and we were extremely disappointed with the government's change of position on this," he said.
Craig Benjamin, of Amnesty International, says the document is not legally binding on governments and that the sections that worry Canada are tempered by other sections of the declaration.
"When governments like Canada or the U.S. or New Zealand or Australia make claims that you can take any particular article and predict dire consequences for law and order or for the operation of the state, it just doesn't work that way. None of the provisions will ever have that kind of weight," he said.