A/HRC/57/62 political relationship with the tribe and (b) the … Allotment is in close geographic proximity to the tribal community”.61 48. In Canada in 2022, the British Columbia Declaration Act Secretariat released innovative guidance that provides every provincial ministry and sector of government with clear, transparent processes for how they are to work with Indigenous Peoples in pursuing alignment with the Declaration when developing and reforming provincial laws, policies and practices, as required by section 3 of the Declaration Act.62 49. In French Guiana, the agreement signed in 2017 between the State and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations mentions the retrocession of 400,000 hectares of land to the Indigenous Peoples of Guiana. However, no land transfers have taken place since then and the land tenure system currently in force in French Guiana is far from ensuring the long-term use of land by Indigenous Peoples.63 D. Constructive arrangements and agreements on legislative and executive policies developed by States to achieve the ends of the Declaration 50. Under article 37 of the Declaration, Indigenous Peoples have the right to the recognition, observance and enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded with States or their successors and to have States honour and respect such arrangements. Those agreements apply, among other things, to legislative and executive policies developed by States to implement the Declaration. 51. In Canada, the 2019 British Columbia Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act includes a provision for making and entering into agreements on joint decisionmaking in relation to the exercise of a statutory power of decision, which does not exist in the Federal Act (2021). In British Columbia, negotiations were concluded on three modern treaties, which include a provision supporting the Declaration as an authoritative source for interpretation. Once ratified, the treaties and this commitment to the Declaration will be constitutionally entrenched.64 52. In the Philippines, policies that are intended to advance full implementation of the Declaration have reportedly emerged because Indigenous Peoples have asserted and claimed their rights.65 These policies can be considered constructive arrangements between the State and Indigenous Peoples.66 Similarly, several provisions of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 in Bangladesh are consistent with the Declaration and guarantee the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples in that region. 53. Significantly, the Inuit-Crown Partnership Agreement67 emerged in 2017 between the Inuit and the Government of Canada. The Agreement has resulted in co-development principles for collaborative efforts between Inuit and federal partners, including the InuitCrown Partnership Committee68 and co-development pursuant to the Inuit Nunangat Policy.69 The principles guide various areas such as legislation, policies, programmes and services. Inuit-Crown co-development follows a distinctions-based approach, considering the unique circumstances of Inuit enrolled in four Inuit Treaty Organizations across the Canadian Arctic. These organizations represent Inuit in their relationship with the Crown. 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 GE.24-13517 Ibid. See https://declaration.gov.bc.ca/declaration-act-secretariat/interim-approach. See also submission from Declaration Act Secretariat, British Columbia, Canada. Submission from Clinique de droit international de l’Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas (in French). Submission from British Columbia Treaty Commission. See, for example, Republic Act No. 11054, available at https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/republic_acts/ra%2011054.pdf. Presentation by Minnie Degawan at the expert meeting, November 2023. See https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2017/02/09/inuit-nunangat-declaration-inuit-crownpartnership. See https://www.itk.ca/inuit-crown-co-development-principles/. See https://www.itk.ca/inuit-nunangat-policy/. 11