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consultations regarding measures that affect indigenous lands or resources and before
the “consideration, formulation or implementation of any legislative, administrative
or development programmes or projects that may affect them ”, whether directly or
indirectly. The Act was developed in a participatory manner, including through
consultations with indigenous peoples themselves (see A/HRC/18/35/Add.5).
E.
Key areas for future discussions
84. The section above provided a brief review of some examples of steps taken
towards strengthening indigenous peoples’ right to govern themselves or participate
in decision-making. While full indigenous self-governance has yet to be achieved,
those steps highlight the potential benefits that can come with increased recognition
of that right. Some of the topics that should be assessed and discussed further with
regard to indigenous peoples and self-governance are outlined below.
Sustainable development
85. Many of the cases discussed in the present report show the positive outcomes of
increasing the ability of indigenous peoples to govern through their own systems and
institutions, including how self-governance contributes to the achievement of
sustainable development, self-determination, conflict reduction and conservation,
among other desirable goals. A thorough analysis of indigenous self -governance
could help to further document the achievements, experiences and challenges of
indigenous governance systems.
Self-governance on paper and in practice
86. While several indigenous governance systems have been officially recognized,
implementation challenges remain in most cases, owing to a lack of full authority to
govern, a lack of resources or the inability to fund governance systems or undertake
economic activities that would generate the funds needed. The importance of getting
indigenous peoples to build their own capacities to govern themselves and to run their
own education, economic and health systems is a key factor in ensuring the success
of indigenous governance. Indigenous peoples who have succeeded in building such
capacities should share their experiences.
Cooperation with the State
87. Of core importance to the success or failure of indigenous governance systems
are their recognition by and interaction and cooperation with the State. This relates to
the detailed division of work between State and indigenous authorities and to the
coordination of joint responsibilities in areas such as social service delivery, justice
systems, security and more. Another key concern is the interaction between traditional
indigenous governance systems and decentralized institutions of the State. There is
an obvious risk that traditional indigenous governance systems fall into disuse when
parallel systems of State authority are developed. At the same time, if traditional
indigenous governance systems are integrated into the official governance system,
but are tasked with implementing policies made by Governments, they may be
regarded as non-objective and non-representative of indigenous peoples themselves.
Similarly, traditional authorities risk being politicized.
Scope of jurisdiction
88. As evidenced by the examples above, there is great diversity in the areas of
jurisdiction that indigenous peoples have been enabled to control, ranging from broad
territorial self-governance to participation in the governance of a particular sector,
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