Terms of Reference

ICC Advisory Committee on United Nations Issues

June 2003 (REVISED October 2, 2008)

The purpose of the UN Advisory Committee was first elaborated in paragraph 11 of the Kuujjuaq Declaration on the occasion of the 9^th General Assembly of the ICC at Kuujjuaq, Nunavik (Quebec), Canada:

“ESTABLISH a UN Advisory Committee composed of executive council members and others to provide on-going advice to ICC on all UN matters of importance to Inuit and other indigenous peoples[.]”

The subsequent discussions have centered around the work of ICC within various human rights bodies of the United Nations and the newly established UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Both have been recognized as the initial starting point for the Committee’s work.

In this regard, the terms of reference for the Committee generally include:

• Monitoring the activities of the UN human rights bodies, including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
• Analyzing the various developments, proposals, strategies and activities of such bodies;
• Advising the ICC Executive Council and others on matters of importance to Inuit and other indigenous peoples;
• Cooperating with other indigenous people and organizations as well as those supportive states to safeguard Inuit/indigenous human rights;
• To educate Inuit about the work of the United Nations, as well as increasing Inuit and in particular youth, involvement in such work;
• Active participation in the work of the UN human rights bodies and the Permanent Forum; and
• To pursue grants and funding to enable the Committee to undertake its work.

It has been recognized that the Committee does not have the capacity, both in terms of human and financial resources, to undertake initiatives in the other fields of the UN: environment, peace and security, and development. However, the Committee may expand its efforts in the future but would only do so consistent with the decisions of the ICC Executive Council and the priorities of Inuit delegates, leadership and communities.