Page 32 - DIVA_2_2018

PHOTO'S BY ALFRED DE ZAYAS

the Charter. The flagrant violations of the right of self- tinated and to this day has declined to invoke its own
determination in Alaska and Hawaii justify revisiting the procedure.
1958 referenda and re-enlisting Alaska and Hawaii under
Article of the UN Charter. What to do?
The Committee on Complementary Standards must
Petition to CERD on Article 15 of ICERD for Alaska and make recommendations to the Human Rights Council
Hawaii to address gaps in the treaty bodies and Special Proce-
The Indian Council of South America (CISA) on behalf dures, including to re-institute self-determination as an
of the Indigenous Peoples and Nations Coalition (IPNC) agenda item at the Human Rights Council and to explore
delivered interventions presented by Ambassador Ronald ways to address the politicization and selectivity and the
Barnes concerning the institutional discrimination at the lack of political will at the United Nations. The Human
Ninth Working Group of the Ad Hoc on Complimentary Rights Council must request the General Assembly and
Standards. Paragraph 207 of the report gives the essential the Special Committee on Decolonization to implement
features succinctly: paragraph 69 (n) of report A/68/284 to review and re-
The representative of the non-governmental organization enlist Alaska and Hawaii. CERD and the Human Rights
Indian Council of South America took the floor to make Committee can be called upon to address cases such as
a statement on behalf of the Indian Council of South Alaska and Hawaii in accordance with Article 15 of IC-
America (CISA) and the Indigenous Peoples and Nations ERD and Article 1 of the ICCPR respectively and to send
Coalition (IPNC) on what they consider an unresolved recommendations to the General Assembly concerning
and institutional racial discrimination that persists in na- denial of the right to self-determination on grounds of
tional legislation due to the reluctance to address obliga- racial discrimination and apartheid to the Special Com-
tions of Administering Powers and its shortcomings in mittee on Decolonization and the General Assembly in
abolishing racial discrimination in the implementation New York.
of Article 73 concerning Non-Self-Governing Territories
in light of Article 15 of International Convention on the The United Nations and the United States and Member
Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). In this re- States must support an immediate freeze and moratorium
gard, CISA and IPNC suggested to the Ad Hoc Commit- on further efforts to exploit the territory and resources
tee that it request CERD to address the Petition of IPNC, belonging to the Indigenous Peoples of Alaska and Ha-
CISA and Koani Foundation: or that it requests CERD to waii. They must the release of illicit funds held for the
implement its own procedure by transmitting their case exploitation of resources, including oil and gas and lands
to the United Nations Decolonization Committee of 24 and for the restoration of territory and for just compensa-
for review and instruction to CERD if necessary; or that tion for the illegal use of territory and resources.
it requests the General Assembly to adopt a resolution to The IPNC and Koani are grateful to Independent Expert
address shortcomings concerning the implementation of Alfred Maurice de Zayas, Erica A. Irene Daes, Miguel Al-
Article 15 of the Convention. fonso Martinez, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and to
the Human Rights Council's Special Procedures for their
IPNC and Koani called upon CERD to implement para- courage and recommendations to address a grave issue
graph 5 of the 1970 procedure it adopted during its 2' against a powerful state who hitherto has granted itself
session (A/8027) to transmit the cases of Alaska and Ha- impunity and does not comply with the pertinent recom-
waii to the United Nations Decolonization Committee mendations of the Human Rights Committee and other
of 24 pursuant to Article 15 of ICERD. CERD procras- UN bodies.

30 DIVA - INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT