The Declaration Act Works for BC – BCAFN

October 17, 2024

The upcoming Provincial Election offers a stark choice for British Columbians. Either we continue the difficult work of implementing the internationally recognized minimum standard of human rights of First Nations peoples through the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or we risk jeopardizing the economic future of this province for First Nations and non-First Nations alike. I believe that British Columbians know which choice to make.

For more than a century provincial governments have infringed on the human rights of First Nations, and we have been wrongfully excluded from decision-making on our own lands and territories. This denial of our human right to self-determination and self-government — a right enjoyed by every other Canadian citizen — has led to years of conflict, legal battles, and economic uncertainty.

The 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, negotiated between states and the world’s Indigenous peoples over thirteen years, represents the most comprehensive articulation of the minimum standards necessary to recognize Indigenous human rights. BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, passed in 2019, legislates the creation of a provincial action plan to guide implementation of the UN Declaration.

Read More: https://www.bcafn.ca/news/declaration-act-works-bc-0