Last Updated on April 10, 2025
The United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has issued the following questionnaire requesting information about indigenous peoples’ strategies to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The questionnaire was prepared at the request of the Human Rights Council in resolution 21/24 and emulates a survey that is currently being undertaken by Nation States.
At the moment, the questionnaire is available in English, French and Spanish.
Questionnaire to Indigenous Peoples
Attaining the Goals of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
15 October 2012
Introduction
In Resolution 21/24 of September 2012 the Human Rights Council requested the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to undertake a survey to seek the views of indigenous peoples on best practices with regard to the possible appropriate measures and implementation strategies to attain the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with a view to completing a final summary of responses for presentation to the Human Rights Council at its 24th session in September 2013.
The request follows a similar questionnaire survey seeking the views of states on their best practices with regard to measures and implementation strategies from 2011-2012, which will be continued again in 2012-2013, also for submission to the Human Rights Council in September 2013. The first summary of the state responses to the survey is available in Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Summary of responses from the questionnaire seeking the views of States on best practices regarding possible appropriate measures and implementation strategies in order to attain the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and available online at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Pages/ExpertMechanismDocumentation.aspx. State responses are also available online at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Pages/QuestionnaireDeclaration.aspx.
The questionnaire seeking the views of indigenous peoples on measures and implementation strategies to attain the goals of the Declaration is set out below. It is deliberately designed to emulate, as much as possible, the questionnaire to states so to facilitate easy comparison in responses and generate ideas for partnerships between states and indigenous peoples for implementation of the Declaration.
The responses of indigenous peoples to the questionnaire will be made available on the website of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples unless permission to post online the response is denied. As indicated above, they will also be collated into a summary of responses, which will be presented to the Human Rights Council at its 24th session in September 2013.
The Expert Mechanism would appreciate receiving your response by 18 February 2013 in order to collate the responses in preparation for, and discussion during, the Expert Mechanism’s sixth session in July 2013 and the Human Rights Council’s 24th session.
Information about the Expert Mechanism is available here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Pages/EMRIPIndex.aspx.
Questionnaire to indigenous peoples
In relation to each question, please take into account, and provide information in relation to, indigenous peoples’ rights in relation to:
References to the Declaration are to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Measures and Implementation Strategies
If yes:
If not:
If yes:
If not:
If yes:
If not:
If yes:
If not:
Please also consider and, if relevant, comment on the role that can be played by international institutions, including the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to assist indigenous peoples in adopting measures and implementation strategies to attain the goals of the Declaration
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