For instance, the United Nations is examining a draft Declaration of Indigenous Rights. Sami handicrafts ILO International Labour Organization, or the International Labour Office which is its secretariat. Each country has its own rules for the way ownership and control of natural resources is handled, and how they define resources. Generally speaking, sub-surface resources are those not exposed on the ground, such as water, air and plants. They usually include minerals, gems and oil, but definitions vary.
Some countries distinguish instead between renewable and non-renewable resources.
In most countries, governments retain ownership of sub-surface resources, whoever owns the land itself. The act by which a country formally engages itself to take on obligations under a Convention. Ratification is only effective when sent to the ILO or UN in good form - a decision to ratify, for instance by a national parliament, does not create any international obligations until it is sent to the organization that adopted it, and registered. An instrument adopted by the ILO at the same time as a Convention, which cannot be ratified, and cannot form obligations. It can provide guidance.