Sustainable Development Goals: An Arctic Indigenous Perspective Dalee Sambo Dorough, PhD Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council Senior Scholar and Special Advisor on Arctic Indigenous Peoples, UAA

the future we want We stress the importance of the participation of indigenous peoples in the achievement of sustainable development. We also recognize the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of global, regional, national and subnational implementation of sustainable development strategies. A/RES/66/288* The future we want, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 27 July 2012

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development INDIGENOUS PEOPLES Recognition of their “vulnerable” status to education Ending hunger through secure access to land Contributions at the national level INDICATORS Agricultural productivity and its linkage to land Equal access to education A/70/1 Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015. A/RES/71/313 and E/CN.3/2018/2, Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS Three pillars of the SDGs SOCIETY ECONOMY ENVIRONMENT PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE inclusiveness, effective, efficient, transparent, consensus, accountable

SOCIETY The realization of the sustainable development goals in favour of Arctic Indigenous peoples and their communities, within SOCIETY, the right to determine their own priorities for development is essential and it is intimately tied to their collective right to self-determination.

ECONOMY As to the realm of ECONOMY and the realization of the SDGs within Arctic Indigenous communities, there must be equality of opportunity and direct, equitable share in benefits, including fair and equitable distribution of benefits. Each of these elements must be determined in a manner acceptable to Indigenous peoples, consistent with their own decision-making institutions.

ENVIRONMENT Crucial to recall the “distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard”

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Indigenous peoples, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind Indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a result of, inter alia, their colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories and resources, thus preventing them from exercising, in particular, their right to development in accordance with their own needs and interests

Respect for Indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional practices contributes to sustainable and equitable development and proper management of the environment The Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, affirm the fundamental importance of the right to self-determination of all peoples, by virtue of which they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development

Article 3 Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination Article 3 Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

Article 20 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions, to be secure in the enjoyment of their own means of subsistence and development, and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities.

Article 23 Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development.

Article 32 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources. 2. States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.

ILO C169 INDIGENOUS AND TRIBAL PEOPLES CONVENTION Article 7 1. The peoples concerned shall have the right to decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy or otherwise use, and to exercise control, to the extent possible, over their own economic, social and cultural development. In addition, they shall participate in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of plans and programmes for national and regional development which may affect them directly.

Article 23 1. Handicrafts, rural and community-based industries, and subsistence economy and traditional activities of the peoples concerned, such as hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering, shall be recognised as important factors in the maintenance of their cultures and in their economic self- reliance and development. Governments shall, with the participation of these people and whenever appropriate, ensure that these activities are strengthened and promoted. 2. Upon the request of the peoples concerned, appropriate technical and financial assistance shall be provided wherever possible, taking into account the traditional technologies and cultural characteristics of these peoples, as well as the importance of sustainable and equitable development.

American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Article XIX 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to live in harmony with nature and to a healthy, safe, and sustainable environment, essential conditions for the full enjoyment of the rights to life and to their spirituality, cosmovision, and collective well-being. 2. Indigenous peoples have the right to conserve, restore, and protect the environment and to manage their lands, territories and resources in a sustainable way.

Convention on Biological Diversity Preamble: Reaffirming also that States are responsible for conserving their biological diversity and for using their biological resources in a sustainable manner. Article 10c of the CBD provides that Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate: … (c) Protect and encourage customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices that are compatible with conservation or sustainable use requirements.

Human Rights Council The 2030 Agenda is unequivocally anchored in human rights. It is explicitly grounded in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights treaties and other instruments, including the Declaration on the Right to Development. It states that the Sustainable Development Goals aim to realize the human rights of all, and emphasizes the responsibilities of all States to respect, protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability or other status. Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights: Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. A/HRC/34/25 (14 December 2016)

Report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on the Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights “Sustainable development is only possible with human rights at the core…”

Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in their Note by the Secretariat: The legal nature of the right to development and enhancement of its binding nature … poverty eradication is one of some of the most important objectives of the right to sustainable development. But poverty eradication alone may not be sufficient in creating social justice, equality and dignity for all. Equally important is the challenge of narrowing the gaps of inequalities that manifest along regions of the world and in terms of race, gender, class and other forms of social differentiation.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Colombia) Recalling its general recommendation No. 23 (1997) on the rights of indigenous peoples, the Committee calls upon the State party to: … (c) Avoid statements criticizing or stigmatizing the efforts of indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples to exercise their fundamental right to free, prior and informed consent and their right to sustainable development.

SOLUTIONS --Opportunities for individuals to uplift Indigenous peoples --Education about interrelated human rights of Indigenous peoples --Right to self-determination and self-government --Right to direct involvement in decision making --Right to determine their own priorities for development --Rights to land, territories and resources --Right to free, prior and informed consent --Support Indigenous peoples and their communities

NEEDS • Need for human rights education • Indigenous human rights education centered on the distinct status, rights and role of Indigenous peoples • Sustainable Development Goals have legal effects

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