Human Rights Council (Working Group/ Expert Body)

The Working Group on Indigenous Populations established by the Economic and Social Council in 1982 as a subsidiary organ of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. This met annually in Geneva and has a two-fold mandate:

• to review developments pertaining to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples
• to give attention to the evolution of international standards concerning indigenous rights.

Following a reform to the UN human Rights machinery, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 6/16 to request the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene an informal meeting to discuss the most appropriate mechanisms to continue the work of the working Group on Indigenous Populations. The Informal meeting took place in Geneva on 6 December and the morning of 7 December 2007.

As a follow-up to the informal meeting the indigenous caucus and a number of governments continued informal negotiations to finalize a draft resolution and submitted to the resumed 6th session of the Human Rights Council. On December 14, 2007 draft resolution A/HRC/6/L.42 (HRC Resolution 6/36) establishing a new Expert Body on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by consensus by the HRC.

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