17th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

08 – 12 July 2024  AT Palais des Nations, Room XIX. LOCATION: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Thank you Madam Chair,

I also thank the first delegates who fought since the last century to open spaces for participation within the League of Nations and the United Nations. I thank the Elder Levi Deskaheh of the Haudenosaunee and the various delegations from 1977 at the NGO Conference in Geneva and onwards.

Your Excellencies, Indigenous sisters and brothers, the international community is witnessing significant progress in the endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) within national frameworks. In its study on Study and advice on Constitutions, laws, legislation, policies, judicial decisions, and other mechanisms through which States have taken measures to achieve the ends of the Declaration, EMRIP has documented several advances in realizing the Declaration’s goals at the national level. However, it notes that the implementation gap remains.

Dear Experts, in relation to Articles 11 and 12 of the Declaration on Restitution and Repatriation of Cultural Elements and Human Remains I am pleased to congratulate the working group leading to the devolution of the Maso Kova to the Yaqui Peoples in Mexico.

I also would like to acknowledge the efforts of museums across Europe and the USA to increasingly engage in constructive debates concerning the repatriation and devolution of Indigenous relics held in their collections. Notably, the European Union’s human rights policies and instruments include respect for UNDRIP and the US has been supportive of the Declaration since 2010.

In light of these developments, I RECOMMEND as future work for the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), to undertake a comprehensive study in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, museums, academia, and other cultural institutions and NGOs, on documenting and analyze cases and good practices in the restitution and repatriation of Cultural Elements and Human Remains.

Such an endeavor would not only draw attention to successful initiatives but also offer insights and guidance for future efforts in this crucial area.

Ki’iimak Óolal!, Thank you!