IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 712 

Expressing support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

and commending the United Nations General Assembly for its adoption 

of the Declaration on September 13, 2007. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 4, 2007 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the Declaration on the Rights of 

Indigenous Peoples and commending the United Nations 

General Assembly for its adoption of the Declaration 

on September 13, 2007. 

Whereas, since 1982, indigenous rights leaders and human 

rights supporters have actively worked on drafting a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for consideration by the United Nations as an important statement 

of international law and policy; 

Whereas the social, cultural, and political rights of the approximately 300,000,000 indigenous peoples throughout 

the world have been in urgent need of clarification due 


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•HRES 712 IH 

to the collective nature of their rights, in contrast to the 

individual rights protected under the Human Rights Declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly 

in 1948; 

Whereas indigenous peoples of the world share a common 

characteristic in that their societies are formed by their 

connection to the lands of their ancestors from time immemorial, such connections serving as the source of their 

culture, traditions, beliefs, knowledge systems, and social 

values as collective or tribal peoples; 

Whereas countries throughout the world have struggled to accommodate the strivings of their indigenous peoples to 

preserve the cultures, traditions, and ways of their ancestors by preserving and maintaining societies that remain 

separate physically, culturally, and socially from the dominant societies that prevail in each such country; 

Whereas the principle of self-determination has emerged as 

the common cause and aspiration of all indigenous peoples in order that they might define and negotiate a relationship and a separate space within the larger society 

and country within which they are located, including the 

preservation of their ancestral lands, their indigenous 

language and culture, and the right and ability to govern 

themselves free of oppression and undue pressures to 

abandon their traditional ways and assimilate into the 

larger society; 

Whereas of all the countries throughout the world and among 

Member States of the United Nations, the United States 

has maintained an exemplary body of law and policy towards its indigenous peoples, the 562 United States Tribal Nations located in the lower 48 states and Alaska, 

which laws and policies have recognized for over 200 


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•HRES 712 IH 

years an inherent right of self-governance, have resulted 

in the negotiation of over 500 nation-to-nation treaty 

agreements, 350 of which have been solemnly ratified by 

the United States Senate, and have, since 1975, successfully implemented a policy of self-determination that explicitly supports the exercise of tribal self-governance and 

economic and social sustainability of United States Tribal 

Nation societies; 

Whereas, in 1982, the United Nations Subcommission on 

Human Rights formed a working group charged with 

drafting a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 

Whereas, in 1993, the draft Declaration was reported to the 

General Assembly and was debated and deliberated upon 

until the fall 2006 session, with a majority of Member 

States voting to table the Declaration until their Fall 

2007 session in order to afford Member States more time 

to study and consider the Declaration; 

Whereas, on June 29, 2006, after more than 24 years of effort, the Working Group, indigenous peoples of the world, 

and their supporters obtained official adoption of the 

Declaration by a majority vote of the United Nations 

Human Rights Council during their inaugural meeting in 

Geneva, Switzerland, with 30 Member States voting in 

the affirmative, 2 in the negative, and 12 abstentions; 

Whereas, on September 13, 2007, by a vote of 143 in favor 

to 4 against, with 11 abstentions, the United Nations 

General Assembly in its 61st session, adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and 

Whereas, by virtue of this historic document, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed several guiding prinVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:39 Oct 06, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR712.IH HR712

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ciples for recognizing, promoting and protecting the 

rights of indigenous peoples, and setting a viable framework for continuing dialogue: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) finds that the relationship between the 

3 United States and the indigenous peoples of the 

4 United States, the United States Tribal Nations, 

5 grounded in the United States Constitution and im6 plemented through numerous Indian treaties, Fed7 eral statutes, and policies, may be considered a 

8 model by other countries in the world in recognizing 

9 and upholding the precious rights of self-determina10 tion and self-governance; and 

11 (2) notwithstanding the recognition and protec12 tion afforded United States Tribal Nations under 

13 United States law and policy, the interests of such 

14 tribal nations may be further advanced and pro15 tected in important ways by adoption of the Declara16 tion in that United States Tribal Treaty rights, cul17 tural rights, and principles of self-determination will 

18 be validated and affirmed as United States policy, 

19 thus protecting such rights on an international level. 

Æ 


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