Nearly two decades after landmark Indigenous rights declaration, countries still aren’t complying

Nearly two decades after the United Nations adopted a landmark declaration on Indigenous rights, advocates say countries still aren’t living up to their promises to uphold and respect those rights.

Indigenous people are being killed for protecting their territories, criminalized for practicing their culture, and seeing their lands stripped of resources without consent. Last week at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples, leaders called for countries to fully implement the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples or UNDRIP, and other international human rights standards.

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted UNDRIP, a sweeping resolution that established international standards for Indigenous land, language, health, and more. The United States and Canada were among a handful of countries that initially opposed the declaration and later adopted it. But in the years since, Indigenous people in those countries, and around the world, say nations are not living up to the framework.

At the UN, Kenneth Deer, a member of the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawà:ke, delivered a joint statement on behalf of the Canadian Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He called for states to establish independent monitoring systems to “ensure the full and effective implementation” of UNDRIP.

“You need to have a group of independent, Indigenous individuals who will have access to how the government is implementing the declaration,” he said. “They should be able to study what they’re doing and make an evaluation whether they’re being effective or not, and then whether there’s failures. They need to highlight those failures to the government, and that’s how you get effective implementation.”

Deer acknowledged how complicated that process could be, which he said highlights the need for a monitoring body. “To implement the declaration, they need a watchdog,” he said. “They need somebody over them to make sure they’re carrying out their responsibilities.”

For many Indigenous nations, health also means cultural and spiritual health. Moses Goods, who is Kanaka Maoli, spoke on behalf of the Nation of Hawai’i and highlighted “the right to remain who we are.” He explained how Indigenous languages serve as memory, identity and medicine—and are a protected right under UNDRIP.

“Language is a link to our culture. It’s a link to who we are as a people and our identity, which is linked to health. When you take those things away, the health of the people start to decline,” he said. “It was intentionally taken away from us as Indigenous people, as Indigenous Hawaiians, so that we would decline. And it worked to a degree, until now.”

Today, culture continues to be weakened including with the disruption of access to lands, such as the wildfires that have caused displacement in Lahaina. 

Despite the challenges, Goods noted that coming together as Indigenous Peoples in places such as the UNPFII is an important step. “We keep telling our stories, we keep telling the truth over and over again to each other, and we strengthen each other. And with those numbers, we can make something happen,” he said.

In 2021, Canada passed a law that committed to aligning all government policies with UNDRIP, but Indigenous advocates at the UN said there’s still a long way to go for those rights to actually be upheld. 

Ryan Fleming is from Attawapiskat First Nation in the remote Mushkegowuk territory of Northern Ontario and described his community as “frozen in time,” a symptom of the poverty he said is created by Canada.

In 2019, Attawapiskat Chief — then councilor — Sylvia Koostachin-Metatawabin and former chief Theresa Spence endured a 15-day hunger strike to secure change from provincial and federal governments to reenact a dormant task force to address the urgency of water quality in the community and other issues affecting the members.

“Until Canada addresses those structural conditions, then you can’t properly move forward with UNDRIP,” Fleming said.

In an emailed statement, Jennifer Cooper, spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, responded to concerns about Indigenous rights and highlighted the Crown’s efforts, which include an Indigenous advisory council and increased funding.

“As we implement the Building Canada Act and advance nation-building projects, we will honour our commitments under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, Duty to Consult, and Modern Treaties and Self-Government Agreements,” Cooper said. “We have made real progress together, but we know there are still barriers that slow things down. We’re improving how we work internally and bringing greater clarity to the process. We continue to develop rights-based agreements together with our partners in the true spirit of reconciliation, shared prosperity and partnership.”

The Province of British Columbia, which enacted legislation to enforce UNDRIP in 2019, has recently been under fire for seeking to suspend or amend parts of that law, after a court ruling found the province inconsistent with its own rules. The province has since backtracked, saying it would collaborate with First Nations leaders on a path forward.

“The inherent pre-existing rights of First Nations are part of, and are protected by, international human rights law,” said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak in a statement at the UN. “[UNDRIP] affirms First Nations rights as human rights. Neither Canada nor British Columbia can extinguish, amend or suspend First Nations’ human rights and remain a respected member of the international community.”

Fleming noted that discussions and reports at the UN don’t always mean action is being taken to follow UNDRIP. “In practice, you don’t see that coming to fruition,” he said. “We don’t need a new treaty. We don’t need a new agreement. We just need [Canada] to implement the original agreement. We need to honour that and then we can move forward.”

As the UNPFII heads into its second week, Indigenous people around the world continue to fight for survival and the rights outlined in UNDRIP. Ercilia Castañeda is Kichwa and the vice president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, which represents 15 nationalities and 18 Indigenous Peoples.

“We cannot speak of health while there is tear gas in our communities, while 60 percent of the water sources in the Amazon are contaminated, while 40 percent of our children live with chronic malnutrition, while around 10,000 people have been murdered in 2025,” Castañeda said in statement at the permanent forum. “We cannot speak of human rights while the fabric of community life is being ripped apart.” 

Castañeda called on Ecuador and international bodies like the UNPFII to strengthen and follow legal human rights frameworks.

Indigenous leaders also repeatedly highlighted the need for direct funding to support UNDRIP implementation. In a presentation, Aluki Kotierk, who is Inuk and the chair of the permanent forum, explained the importance of the UN Trust Fund for Indigenous Peoples, which she said “contributes directly to facilitating the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

But Kotierk also said support from member states for the fund is minimal. Kotierk noted that there are only three states who contribute annually to the fund. 

New systems, including a policy marker system by the United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP, are set to help track that funds reach Indigenous Peoples directly. Indigenous leaders hope that funds for climate and development will reach them without getting delayed through state intermediaries, but the exact process is unclear. The UNDP did not immediately return a request for comment. 

As Indigenous leaders from around the world demanded change on international and domestic levels, Kenneth Deer said that UNDRIP implementation should be a collaborative process.

“The relationship is about coexistence. It’s not about domination of Canada over Indigenous people,” he said .“What we need to offer is solutions, not just come to the UN and complain about Canada, but come to the United Nations with solutions.”

The UNPFII is set to run till the end of the week.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Nearly two decades after landmark Indigenous rights declaration, countries still aren’t complying on Apr 27, 2026.