ICC Commends the Government of Canada for Precedent-Setting Legislation to Implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

December 8, 2020 – Anchorage, Alaska – The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) applauds the positive actions taken by the Government of Canada in tabling legislation in the Canadian House of Commons on December 3rd that would implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canada. 

ICC Chair Dalee Sambo Dorough stated “Following decades of direct involvement in the drafting of the human rights affirmed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, this is welcome news for Inuit and ICC overall. The ICC has raised the interrelated rights of Inuit in a host of intergovernmental dialogues across the globe. This is an extraordinary, concrete step towards achieving the objectives of ICC, a precedent that we hope is followed worldwide. As far back as 1977, Eben Hopson, Sr. underscored the need for agreement by governments to uniformly respect our rights and we are now on the cusp of serious, substantive consideration of a bill to fully implement or operationalize such rights in the Canada. We recognize that human rights are at the foundation of every issue that we face and governments as well as other actors must recognize the content of our rights in a way that saturates everything they do. This is especially true in relation to the right of self-determination, which is recognized as the prerequisite to the exercise and enjoyment of all our human rights. It is my hope that the Bill “achieves Royal Assent as quickly as possible.” 

The UNDRIP was passed at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 13, 2007. The UNGA has subsequently passed numerous consensus resolutions supporting the UN Declaration and also calling on States to work with Indigenous peoples to develop national action plans and other measures to implement UNDRIP, including legislation, as is being done in Canada through this Bill. 

The summary of Bill C-15 reads as follows: “This enactment provides that the Government of Canada must take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and must prepare and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of the Declaration.” 

The government of Canada has three years following the passage of Bill C-15 to prepare the action plan. It must contain measures to, “address injustices, combat prejudice and eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination, including systemic discrimination, against Indigenous peoples…” 

ICC Canada President Monica Ell-Kanayuk stated, “We also commend Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) in working with Canadian government officials in the co-development of the legislation. We recognize that tremendous ongoing effort is required to ensure Bill C-15 goes through the legislative process in Parliament and achieves Royal Assent. We add our voice to encourage parliamentarians to support this historic legislation in the ongoing struggle to protect the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. The progressive actions of the Government of Canada in this regard, we believe, will help influence other positive legislative actions for Inuit and others across the globe.” 

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