Update on provincial and territorial and international developments

Indigenous partners have encouraged us to include other perspectives on UN Declaration implementation and to learn from practices in other jurisdictions and other countries. Although Canada is the first country to publish and begin work toward implementing an Action Plan on the UN Declaration, we continue to study how other provinces and territories and other countries approach the UN Declaration. This section provides a few highlights of recent developments in other Canadian jurisdictions and around the world. It is by no means intended to be comprehensive, but rather to identify efforts and experiences across a range of jurisdictions on the UN Declaration and its implementation.

We thank partners at Global Affairs Canada, the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and the Declaration Act Secretariat (British Columbia), the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs and the Legislative Assembly (Northwest Territories), the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Te Puni Kōkiri (Aotearoa – New Zealand), and the White House Council on Native American Affairs (United States) for their input into this section.

Provincial and territorial perspectives

The Action Plan focuses on measures to achieve the objectives of the UN Declaration in areas of federal authority and responsibility. We know that some measures will be more effectively implemented through cooperative approaches with provinces and territories. The Government of Canada will continue to seek every opportunity to collaborate with provinces and territories as they pursue UN Declaration implementation and reconciliation initiatives in their own jurisdictions. For example, Shared Priorities measure 111 commits Canada to collaborate “with Indigenous partners and the Province of British Columbia on the implementation of provincial measures in support of British Columbia’s Declaration Act Action Plan.”

British Columbia

In 2019, British Columbia (B.C.) became the first Canadian jurisdiction to adopt the UN Declaration through legislation.

The Act mandates the provincial government to bring all laws, policies, programs, and practices into alignment with the UN Declaration, in true consultation and cooperation with Indigenous Peoples (section 3). Since 2022, the Province has amended several pieces of legislation to align with the UN Declaration, including amendments that uphold First Nations jurisdiction over education, support Indigenous peoples in exercising their jurisdiction over child and family services, and take significant steps to dismantle systemic racism and discrimination through the Anti-Racism Data Act.

The Act also provides a mechanism to negotiate joint and consent-based decision-making agreements with Indigenous governing bodies (sections 6 and 7). Whether joint or consent based, Declaration Act decision-making agreements help address the legacy of colonialism by allowing the province to work shoulder-to-shoulder with First Nations on decisions that affect them.

To support First Nations’ capacity to engage in the Declaration Act work, the Province is providing funding through the $200 million Declaration Act Engagement Fund. The fund supports First Nations’ capacity to engage with the province on implementation of the action plan and align provincial legislation with the UN Declaration.

B.C. released its Declaration Act Action Plan in March 2022. The five-year, cross government action plan includes 89 tangible, achievable actions in the areas of self-determination and self-government, rights and title, ending anti-Indigenous racism, and enhancing social, cultural, and economic well-being. Steady progress has been made to implement the Action Plan across government sectors. B.C. will report its progress this year through its 5th annual report, developed in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous Peoples, which will be publicly released by June 30, 2024.

Northwest Territories

In October 2023, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories granted assent to Bill 85, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Implementation Act. The Northwest Territories became the second province or territory to pass legislation to implement the UN Declaration in Canada, and also to use it as the framework for reconciliation between the territorial Government and Indigenous Governments. The Act requires the Government of the Northwest Territories to table a statement of consistency with each bill to confirm it is consistent with the UN Declaration. The Government is also working with Indigenous Governments to establish a consistency process to review all existing legislation and policies. The Act was co-developed with Indigenous Governments and provides for an Action Plan to be co-developed no later than October 2025. Work is underway between the Government of the Northwest Territories and Indigenous Governments via the Action Planning Committee to develop the Action Plan.

The Intergovernmental Council Legislative Development Protocol is the first agreement of its kind in Canada. It formalizes the Government of the Northwest Territories and Indigenous Governments’ collaborative development of land and resource statutes and regulations that was set out as part of the devolution of lands and resources in 2014. The protocol supports UN Declaration implementation by respecting, consulting, and collaborating with Indigenous Governments on land and resource management. Separately, the Legislative Assembly’s Consensus Government Process Convention guides how legislation on land and resources, which are co-developed with Indigenous Governments, is introduced, considered, and enacted in the legislature. The Process Convention is a feature of the Northwest Territories’ unique parliamentary democracy and creates space for Indigenous Governments in the legislature while providing for Indigenous Governments’ attendance and participation at different stages.

International perspectives

Canada is a major proponent of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and contributed significantly to the process’s elaboration as part of the UN human rights reporting system. Canada actively participates in other country reviews and encourages countries to participate in their own UPR processes in an open, transparent, and cooperative manner. Canada leads by example in the UPR process as part of its ongoing efforts to promote and protect human rights at home and abroad.

The UPR process provides an opportunity for Canada to assess its domestic human rights implementation. This includes identifying areas where progress has been made on strengthening human rights protections and recognizing policy areas where improvements are needed. The Action Plan’s objectives regarding implementation of the UN Declaration align with several recommendations made by other UN Member States and which were accepted by Canada as part of its most recent UPR in 2023. Canada included verbatim input from national Indigenous organisations in the “What We Heard” annex of its UPR report and carried out targeted engagement with Indigenous partners as part of preparing Canada’s response to the UPR recommendations received. These actions reflect Canada’s commitment to involving Indigenous peoples in the UPR process. Documents related to Canada’s UPR cycles can be found on the Universal Periodic Review section of the United Nations website.

Australia

Australia endorsed the UN Declaration in 2009. Since then, Australia has committed to taking actions to implement the UN Declaration and promote Indigenous peoples’ enjoyment of rights on an equal basis. Australia identified its Closing the Gap strategy as its key policy platform to give effect to the UN Declaration. Through the 2020 National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap, Australia committed to better involve the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Bodies as partners and decision makers in the Strategy. The Australian Government released the 2023 Closing the Gap report and corresponding 2024 Implementation Plan in February 2024. This year’s report noted that areas which are improving and on track to meet targets include: engaging children in early education, economic participation, and youth detention statistics. In addition, the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum on October 14 proposed an alteration to the Australian constitution that would recognize Indigenous peoples in the document through an advisory body to Parliament called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The majority of Australian voters rejected the proposal.

Under existing legislation, when a bill is introduced in the Federal Parliament, it must have a statement of compatibility with international human rights–defined as the rights set out in the seven international human rights treaties that Australia has ratified. In 2023, a joint committee of the Australian Parliament undertook an inquiry into the application of the UN Declaration. In November 2023, the committee tabled its report with six recommendations, including the development of a national Action Plan and legislative action to include the UN Declaration in the parliamentary compatibility statements. The Australian Government is currently considering the recommendations.

Aotearoa – New Zealand

Aotearoa – New Zealand undertook work to implement the UN Declaration starting in 2019. In June 2021, the then Cabinet approved a two-step engagement and consultation process to develop a draft UN Declaration Action Plan. Between September 2021 and February 2022, Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori Development), representatives from the National Iwi Chairs Forum, a national tribal organization, and the New Zealand Human Rights Commission held over 70 targeted engagement workshops to hear from Indigenous communities about their aspirations for a UN Declaration Action Plan.

A theme from the targeted engagement was for government to share its power and support Māori to exercise their right to participate in decision-making on issues that affect them. This applied to a range of topics, from justice, health, and education, to housing, the environment, and cultural expression and identity. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the original timelines for the draft UN Declaration Action Plan, and in December 2022, the Government deferred the draft UN Declaration Action Plan’s development until 2024. In October 2023, Aotearoa – New Zealand held its general election. The new Government is still considering the UN Declaration within the wider work programme for the term.

United States

The United States first expressed its support for the UN Declaration in 2010 through President Obama. The following year, in 2011, the Department of State issued a statement clarifying the United States’ support. In 2014, the United States’ support for the United Nations Resolution known as the “Outcome Document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples” further demonstrated that the United States had committed to undertaking certain measures, plans, and strategies to achieve the ends of the UN Declaration.

Since then, several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have developed policies and guidance referencing the UN Declaration. The International Indigenous Issues Committee of the White House Council on Native American Affairs (WHCNAA) continues to work with and evaluate various aspects of the UN Declaration, including the consideration of how the UN Declaration is being implemented in other countries. In the United States, several Tribal Nations have adopted the UN Declaration as a matter of their own tribal law. The United States Congress has not taken any legislative action on the UN Declaration.

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