Льыоравэтльан - Durban Review Conference: Indigenous Issue

The Durban Conference took place between 20 and 24 April 2009 in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Elena Nechushkina, director of regional public organization “Informational Legal Center of Indigenous Peoples of Krasnoyarsk Krai” and vice-president of LIENIP was the only indigenous representative from the Russian Federation. The conference evaluated progress towards the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. Adopted by consensus at the 2001 World Conference against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) is a comprehensive, action-oriented document that aims to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. DDPA contains far-reaching measures to fight against all forms of racism, including introduction of tighter antidiscriminatory legislation and administrative sanctions; improvement of education, access to health system and system of jurisdiction; reinforcement of struggle against poverty and promotion of development; improvement of legal assistance to victims of racism; strengthening of cultural diversity and respect for human rights. Regardless of international scandal induced by the statement of the president of Iran and reactions of official delegations indigenous peoples managed to take their attitude to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the conference.
The outcome document of the Durban review Conference and other documents covering the conference are available at ohchr.org and durbanreview2009.com.
These documents together with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action are supplementary legal protection of indigenous rights. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should elaborate national programmes of action on their ground. Indigenous peoples can take part in implementation and control of actions for the elimination of discrimination within the bounds of the Russian Federation programme.