Civil society participation in international decision making: recent developments and future perspectives in the indigenous rights arena

Abstract

This article focuses on key issues and recent developments concerning indigenous peoples’ involvement in international decisionmaking affecting their rights and interests.Based on a human rights-based approach to participation, it suggests that while a number of positive steps have been taken to allow indigenous peoples the possibility to take part to, and influence, relevant intergovernmental decision-making processes, there’s a need to provide their own self-governing institutions and organisations with a more influential status than that granted to civil society organisations (CSOs) generally, whereby they can exercise different levels of participatory rights, depending upon the nature of the indigenous rights and interests at stake, and on the anticipated impact of the proposed decisions on them.