Recurring themes and lessons learned to date

Recurring themes that the Secretariat heard and learned to date from Indigenous partners point to specific challenges in the Declaration implementation process, and the need for further consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples in reaching mutually agreeable solutions.

First, Indigenous partners conveyed the need for the federal government to define with Indigenous partners what constitutes consultation and cooperation – as well as co-development – and to clarify how these requirements intersect with the duty to consult, as well as FPIC in Declaration implementation. Indeed, a key priority shared by many partners was the need to uphold FPIC and the duty to consult in all aspects of Declaration implementation. A related priority was the need for sustainable financial and technical assistance to ensure that the statutory requirement to implement the Declaration “in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples” is being fulfilled, and that the Action Plan be considered a living document that will be reviewed and amended in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples in the future.

Partners were also vocal in their need for an independent, Indigenous-led monitoring and accountability mechanism to ensure adequate implementation of the Declaration, and that the federal government not be the arbiter of determining its own success in Declaration implementation. While partners conveyed multiple recommendations on the form and structure of the monitoring and accountability body, there was broad consensus that it should operate independently from government.

Lastly, partners expressed the need for the federal government to involve provinces and territories in its approach to Declaration implementation, as many of the social and economic rights contained in the Declaration intersect with areas of provincial or territorial jurisdiction. While some partners acknowledged the British Columbia government’s leadership in implementing the Declaration at the provincial level, there was overarching concern that inter-jurisdictional issues and lack of federal-provincial-territorial-Indigenous collaboration would prevent Indigenous peoples – particularly marginalized Indigenous groups – from exercising their rights under the Declaration on an equitable basis.