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Australia needs to declare support for Indigenous Peoples in words and actions
Author: By Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.
Publication: The Koori Mail, 24 September 2008, p 27.
September 13 was the first anniversary of the passage of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
This first anniversary has passed with little fanfare while we await the Australian Government to implement its commitment to formally support the Declaration at the UN. That support is likely to be forthcoming shortly – and the sooner this occurs the better.
A relatively unique instrument, the declaration does not create any new legal standards under international law, but instead elaborates the particular entitlements of Indigenous peoples to existing and universal human rights standards.
The Declaration is not about special status – it is about maintaining identity and ensuring that marginalised cultures and those vulnerable to exploitation are not lost with the full human tragedy that goes with that.
Since coming to power, the Rudd Government has demonstrated an obvious desire to change the way business is done in Indigenous affairs. It has stated an intention to enter into genuine partnerships with Indigenous peoples instead of simply applying policy decisions to our people as passive recipients.
The National Apology to the Stolen Generations in February and commitment to Close the Gap in Indigenous health inequality in March, are two striking examples that come to mind of steps in the right direction the government has already taken.
Lending our support to the Declaration is another giant step I believe we must now take. It will make it unambiguous to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to the world that Australia does respect the standards contained in the Declaration. It will go quite some way to restoring the reputation of Australia within the UN as a country that sits at the forefront of promoting and protecting human rights.
Supporting the Declaration is far more than a symbolic gesture. Lasting reconciliation in Australia will only be possible when governments are genuine about engagement and partnership with Indigenous peoples and where we are sitting at the table when decisions about our lives are being made, rather than policies being decided and implemented based on short-term political convenience.
The Declaration is a very positive, aspirational document that sets out ambitions for a new partnership and relationship between Indigenous peoples and the government. Such partnerships would affirm that Indigenous peoples make a unique contribution to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures.
By explicitly encouraging harmonious and cooperative relationships between governments and Indigenous peoples, and being driven by principles of partnership, consultation and cooperation between Indigenous peoples and States, the Declaration has untapped potential.
Australian Indigenous peoples were instrumental in the drafting of the Declaration and my own consultations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have confirmed that our people have hopes and expectations that the Declaration will become a tangible tool that can change lives.
Bringing the Declaration to life by acting on it and following its guiding principles would lead to greater success in the public policy areas we care about most. Consulting with remote Indigenous communities and building on their efforts to protect children is far more likely to have successful and sustainable effects than sending in the army, for example.
The Prime Minister and Opposition leader have signed the Statement of Intent to Close the Gap at the National Indigenous Health Equality Summit. This commits to a new partnership with Indigenous peoples, as well as the development of a long term action plan, targeted to need that is capable of closing the gap, and that respects the rights of Indigenous peoples.
So the commitment is there formally. Failure to support the Declaration would be totally inconsistent with the government’s pledges to close the gap.
Supporting the Declaration is the next step.
The ramifications of how Australia engages with the Declaration will not be confined to the domestic sphere. In an era in which our government has indicated a renewed commitment to international diplomacy through the United Nations, a failure to engage with and promote the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples puts us considerably out of step with the rest of the international community.
But more importantly, a failure to support the Declaration must cast doubt on the federal government’s commitment to reconciliation and to self-determination for Indigenous Peoples.
Self-determination does not mean supporting secession. Indeed, the Declaration states that ‘Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States’.
Nor does it mean taking anything away from non-Indigenous Australians.
In simple terms, a commitment to self-determination means supporting Indigenous people to make their own decisions, in a way that enriches us all.
Australia’s support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples could - and should - be the next giant step forward this government takes.
