Statement
First intersessional meeting of the Human Rights Council on concrete ways to enhance the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the work of the Council
Session 3 – Accreditation criteria.
Statement delivered by Mr Tormod C. Endresen, Ambassador - Permanent Representative to the UN and other International Organizations.
18 July 2024
- Accreditation criteria should be objective, consistent and transparent, based on the rights of self-determination and self-identification.
- In addition to self-identification, other criteria could include being descended from or belonging to an Indigenous People; and being accepted as such by that Indigenous People, alongside representativeness of, and accountability to, the Indigenous People represented.
- Relationship to land, and having their own language, culture, spirituality and laws, and the capacity to enforce those laws, might also be relevant criteria.
- Representatives from each region would be best placed to identify those who qualifies as Indigenous Peoples.
- Further, the criteria should be flexible to account for the diversity of forms of Indigenous Peoples.
- Ensuring representation and participation of all seven socio-economic regions is key.
- Criteria may not be all met in every case, taking into consideration the differences among regions.
- Let me give an example from Norway on how the right to self-identification can work together with other criteria. The Sámi Parliament is democratically elected by and among the Sámi. The critera for having the right to vote in the Sami Parliament is to declare yourself as a Sami and to either speak a Sami language, have parents, grandparents or great grandparents who spoke Sami or be a child of a person who has or has had the right to vote. You also have to be a Norwegian resident and above the age of 18.
- We look forward hearing from Indigenous Peoples themselves today and encourage us to building on the stocktaking reports by the OHCHR, and identify good practices regarding accreditation criteria and mechanisms.