IWGIA Annual Report 2006

The adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the Human Rights Council in May 2006 was hailed as a major step forward in recognising the indigenous peoples’ situation and their inherent rights. It was also an achievement for IWGIA, as we have put a considerable amount of effort into the whole process ever since the idea of a Declaration was launched – providing information about the Draft, facilitating the participation of indigenous peoples in the Ad-hoc Working Group and working closely with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greenlandic Home Rule. There were therefore many reasons to rejoice and, for several months, there was general optimism regarding the Declaration’s fi nal adoption by the UN General Assembly. The non-action resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee in November was therefore a disappointment to IWGIA as well as to the IP movement but nevertheless a challenge that we will take up in 2007 and, if need be, in the years to come.