UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the General Assembly on September 13, 2007, that delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including their ownership rights, cultural and ceremonial expression, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues. Their ownership also extends to the protection of their Indigenous intellectual property. The declaration "emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations." It "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them, and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development".