KAIROS Briefing Paper #5: Measuring the Federal Government’s Commitment to Aboriginal Rights

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been under development for more than 20 years, making it one of the most intensely debated and carefully scrutinized human rights instruments in UN history. Uniquely, the primary beneficiaries of the Declaration, Indigenous peoples themselves, have been an integral part of its development. Unfortunately, the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to oppose the Declaration at several key UN votes, which could prevent the UN General Assembly from ever adopting the Declaration.