General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

14 December 1992

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

 
                                                 A/RES/47/75
                                                 85th plenary meeting
                                                 14 December 1992
 
      International Year of the World's Indigenous People, 1993
 
     The General Assembly,
 
     Bearing in mind that one of the purposes of the United Nations, as set
forth in the Charter, is the achievement of international cooperation in
solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or
humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human
rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination as to race,
sex, language or religion,
 
     Recalling its resolution 45/164 of 18 December 1990, in which it
proclaimed 1993 as the International Year of the World's Indigenous People,
with a view to strengthening international cooperation for the solution of
problems faced by indigenous communities in areas such as human rights, the
environment, development, education and health,
 
     Recognizing the value and the diversity of the cultures and the forms of
social organization of the world's indigenous people,
 
     Welcoming the report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, as well as resolution 1992/45 of 3 March 1992 regarding the
International Year of the World's Indigenous People, adopted by the Commission
on Human Rights at its forty-eighth session,
 
     Noting the need to conclude the technical meeting provided for in
paragraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 46/128 of 17 December 1991 in
accordance with the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 (b) of the same
resolution,
 
     1.   Reaffirms that it proclaimed 1993 as the International Year of the
World's Indigenous People, with the theme of "Indigenous people - a new
partnership";
 
     2.   Calls upon the United Nations system and Governments that have not
yet done so to develop policies in support of the objectives and the theme of
the Year and to strengthen the institutional framework for their
implementation;
 
     3.   Urges the Coordinator for the International Year of the World's
Indigenous People to continue to solicit actively the cooperation of
specialized agencies, regional commissions, financial and development
institutions and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system for
the promotion of the programme of activities contained in the annex to General
Assembly resolution 46/128;
 
     4.   Requests the Coordinator to reconvene from within existing
resources, in the three working days preceding the eleventh session of the
Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the technical meeting provided for in
paragraph 8 of resolution 46/128, with a view to concluding its deliberations
and finalizing its report;
 
     5.   Stresses that governmental and intergovernmental activities
undertaken within the context of the Year and beyond should take fully into
account the development needs of indigenous people and the need for making
full use of the contributions that indigenous communities can bring to
sustainable national development;
 
     6.   Notes that there is a continuing need to improve the availablity and
the means of dissemination of socio-economic data relating to the development
needs of indigenous people and that the Year should contribute to enhancing
and to facilitating the coordination capabilities of Member States for
collecting and analysing information in that area;
 
     7.   Appeals to Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, as well as indigenous people's organizations, to contribute to
the voluntary fund for the Year opened by the Secretary-General;
 
     8.   Recommends to the Secretary-General that he should give all
assistance necessary to the Coordinator to permit him to carry out his tasks;
 
     9.   Recommends that the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference
on Human Rights should continue to consider at its upcoming meeting how issues
pertinent to the Year could be addressed within the framework of the
Conference;
 
     10.  Stresses the relevance for the solution of problems faced by
indigenous communities of the recommendations made in chapter 26 of Agenda 21,
contained in the report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development;
 
     11.  Requests the Commission on Human Rights to ask the Working Group on
Indigenous Populations, at its eleventh session, and the Subcommission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, at its forty-fifth
session, to complete their consideration of the draft universal declaration on
the rights of indigenous peoples and to submit their report to the Commission
at its fiftieth session;
 
     12.  Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General
Assembly at its forty-ninth session on the activities developed and the
results achieved within the context of the Year.