Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 1, 1 January 1985 — Working Group is UN Vehicle for OHA [ARTICLE]

Working Group is UN Vehicle for OHA

By Wendy Roylo Hee Planning and Development Officer The United Nations was established in 1945 as a vehicle for securing peaee through discussion and negotiations. There are six principal organs of the U.N.: • the General Assembly, composed of representatives of all 157 member countries, whose duty is to make major decisions on international peaee and security matters; • the 15-member Security Council that investigates international disputes; • the 54-member Eeonomie and Social Council whose duty is to coordinate the eeonomie and social work of the U.N. and its special agencies; • the Trusteeship Council, composed of the five permanent members of the Security Council, whieh supervises the administration of Trust Territories; • the lnternational Court of Justice, composed of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly; and • the Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General who is appointed by the General Assembly on recommendation of the Security Council. The SecretaryGeneral manages 16,000 staff members from 150countries who are responsible for the day-to-day work of the U.N. Under the Eeonomie and Social Council, there is a Commission on Human Rights, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, whieh receives letters and eomplaints about human rights violations. This commission has an expert body of 25 people called the SubCommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. Five members of the subcommission then meet as the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (see Exhibit 1 ). This Working Group is the forum in whieh the Office of Hawaiian Affairs ean operate to expand its network with other indigenous people who are seeking solutions to problems that are shared by Hawaiians. The purpose of the Working Group is to facilitate dialogue between the indigenous group and the national government. The WG1P meets annually in July or August. It recently held its third annual session this year, and the next meeting is scheduled for July 29 through Aug. 2, 1985. The subcommission meets immediately after the Working Group from Aug. 5 through Aug. 30, 1985. The agenda of the 1985 meeting will include( 1 ) definition of indigenous people, (2) rights to land, and (3) culture. These issues parallel those of eoneem to Hawaiians, namely (1) definition of native Hawaiian vis-a-vis blood quantum, (2) rights to ceded lands, and (3) preservation of the Hawaiian culture. lt would be instructive for Hawaiians to learn how other indigenous groups have handled these issues and how they work with representatives of their national government to arrive at equitable solutions to the treatment of indigenous peoples. The Working Group also maintains a repository for documents on indigenous groups called the lndigenous People Documentation Research and lnformation Center (DOCIP), whieh is located in Geneva. Groups of indigenous peoples recognized by the U.N. are the Four Directions Council, the International lndian Treaty Council, Survival lnternational Limited, lndian Law Resource Center, lnuit Circumpolar Conference and the WorId Council of lndigenous People. EXH1BIT 1 ECONOMIC & SOCIAL COUNCIL 54 Members COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Meets annually for six weeks February and March in Geneva SUB-COMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MIN0R1TIES 25 experts meet annually for one month in Geneva WORKING GROl'P ON INDIGENOUS POPULAT10NS Five of the 25 experts from the subcommission meet annually for one week in Geneva