ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL RESUMES SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

Press Release
ECOSOC/5688

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL RESUMES SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

Approves Participation of NGOs in Elaboration of Declaration on Rights Of Indigenous Peoples; Acts on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant

The Economic and Social Council, meeting in a resumed substantive session this morning, approved the participation of 14 non-governmental organizations in the open-ended inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights to elaborate a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.

The organizations approved, by means of a decision, represent indigenous peoples and are not in consultative status with the Council. They include the Assembly of First Nations, from Canada; Association of Northern Indigenous Peoples of the Sakha Republic, from the Russian Federation; Centro de Servicios Comunitarios, from Guatemala; Chickasaw Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Indian Reservation, Na Koa Ikaika O Ka Lahui Hawaii, Protect Kohanaiki Ohanai and Upper Sioux Community/Pejihutazizi Oyate from the United States; Federacion de Ayllus del Sur-Oruro, Fundacion Amautica Fausto Reinaga, Organizacion de Mujeres Indigenas de Bolivia and Taller de Historia Oral Andina from Bolivia; International Alliance of Indigenous Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, from the United Kingdom; and Organization for Survival of the Illaikipiak Indigenous Maasai Group Initiative from Kenya.

Also approved on a provisional basis, pending the receipt of the views of the governments concerned, were L'auravetl'an Foundation, from Liechtenstein, and Organizacion de la Nacion Aymara, from Peru. The draft decision was contained in document E/1996/102/Add.1 and Corr.1.

Speaking after action, the representative of the United States said the applications of L'auravetl'an Foundation and Organizacion de la Nacion Aymara should be considered provisional until the governments concerned made comments on them.

The representative of the United Kingdom said that, on practical grounds, the accreditation of the two organizations mentioned by the United States representative was, strictly speaking, not provisional. He would like to hear the views of the governments in whose territories the organizations were based.

The representative of Peru reiterated comments previously made to the effect that Organizacion de la Nacion Aymara, was not in the list of registered non-governmental organizations in the country. The organization had recognized that it had been granted provisional accreditation pending the reaction of the government.

Also this morning, the Council, by another decision, requested the Secretary-General to call the attention of the States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to his report on the follow-up and monitoring of that Covenant. The draft decision (document E/1996/L.53) was introduced by Council Vice-President Karel Kovanda (Czech Republic).

The representative of Costa Rica, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, welcomed the draft decision and said the Secretary-General's report validated the Group's position that the Committee should be provided with the same follow-up mechanisms as other human rights treaty bodies.

In his report (document E/1996/101), the Secretary-General had noted that the Committee is the only monitoring body within the United Nations human rights treaty system whose establishment has not been provided for in the relevant treaty. It may be appropriate to codify, through available legal procedures, the normative work accomplished by the Council since the entry into force of the Covenant on 3 January 1976, to bring the Committee into line with other similar human rights treaty bodies, the report states.

The Economic and Social Council will meet again at a time to be announced.

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