A/HRC/51/50 Annex Advice No. 15 on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements, including peace accords and reconciliation initiatives, and their constitutional recognition 1. States should fully recognize indigenous peoples as peoples entitled to selfdetermination as affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration), as grounded in articles 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and as reaffirmed in several international and regional human rights instruments and by treaty bodies and special procedures mandates. Preferably, this recognition should be affirmed in State constitutions to guarantee the highest level of domestic protection and provide continuity and immunity against instability, political change and/or regression of rights, including in domestic legislation and policies. 2. States should, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, incorporate an implementation framework of the Declaration into domestic law. States should consider the Declaration as the minimum standard for achieving indigenous peoples’ enjoyment of their rights, which does not preclude more ambitious initiatives. 3. States should take steps to advance and achieve the realization of the right of indigenous peoples to have recognized, observed and enforced treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded with them or their successors, as set out in article 37 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and article XXIV of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. They should honour and respect them in good faith, according to their spirit and intent and avoid taking unilateral initiatives that could undermine the status of these agreements and the rights affirmed therein. Implementation of such agreements is fundamental for the enjoyment by indigenous peoples of their right to self-determination. 4. States should take the necessary measures to build real and genuine partnerships with indigenous peoples, based on principles of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, nondiscrimination and good faith, through the establishment, on equal standing, of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements. 5. Where the dominant legal framework does not include indigenous legal systems, States should recognize the legal personality of indigenous peoples so that agreements reached with them can be formalized in a manner that ensures indigenous peoples’ juridical personality and equal footing in the negotiation, conclusion, implementation and enforcement of such agreements. 6. In agreement-making processes, States should engage in meaningful dialogue, considering indigenous peoples as partners instead of beneficiaries, and define together, by mutual consent and equal participation, the negotiation framework and terms of the agreement, including monitoring, implementation and conflict-resolution mechanisms. 7. In directing efforts to establish agreements with indigenous peoples, States should consider the possibility of engaging in accordance with the traditional legal system, customs and practices of indigenous peoples, even if they lie outside the legal framework of the State. This should be done with respect for their practices of establishing relations and should in no way be used to delegitimize agreements concluded on those bases. 8. In all phases of agreement-making, establishing, monitoring, implementing and conflict-resolution, respect for the full body of human rights of indigenous peoples must be placed at the centre. 9. In negotiating agreements with indigenous peoples, States should be aware of imbalances of power and respect the time and conditions necessary for indigenous peoples to define and strengthen their own internal decision-making institutions, without interference or attempts to influence their composition or positions. 19