Moscow April 24, 2009

The 6th Congress of the Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Congress) representing 40 peoples of the Russian Federation declared that its main objective is the preservation and development of their traditional lifestyles as an inseparable component of the ethno-cultural diversity of the peoples of Russia.  .

The Congress points out that the federal authorities have been engaged in legislative activities aimed at ensuring sustainable socio-economic and ethno-cultural development of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation.

The Congress welcomes the approval by the Government of the Russian Federation of the Concept of the Sustainable Development of the Indigenous Peoples of the World, Siberia and the Far East, hereinafter referred to as the Concept, which promotes the creation of the prerequisite conditions and stimuli  for the sustainable development of the indigenous people both with the support by the state and through mobilization of the internal resources of the peoples themselves.

The Congress supports the interaction of the federal authorities and NGOs of the indigenous peoples in preparing the Concept and the draft Plan of Measures for its implementation in  2009 - 2011.

The Congress approves of some work by the federal authorities of a number of entities of the Russian Federation in solving the important problems of socio-economic and ethno-cultural development of indigenous peoples in refining the regional legislation aimed at the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples.

The Congress welcomes the establishment of the National Organizing  Committee for conducting the Second International Decade of the Indigenous Peoples of the World declared by the UN General Assembly, which started implementing the set of urgent measures for the preparation and conducting the Second International Decade of the Indigenous Peoples of the World.

The Congress also welcomes the adoption by the General UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which declared a wide set of individual and collective rights, including the right to the conservation and development of their cultural peculiarity and a specific identity, the rights to education and participation in the economic and social life of the society in which indigenous peoples live.

The Congress supports the intention of the Russian and foreign nongovernmental organizations to promote the conservation and development of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East and calls upon the strengthening of their interaction with the federal authorities.

The Congress calls upon the leaders of the UN members countries to  use wider the experience of the Russian Federation and to contribute actively to the Second International Decade of the Indigenous Peoples of the World.

At the same time, the Congress pays attention to the fact that until recently there remain some unsolved problems preventing the sustainable development of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation and their successful adaptation to present-day conditions, including:

Ineffective management in integrated approach to the problems of sustainable development of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation ;

The absence of effective mechanisms of involvement of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation in developing and making decisions regarding the socio-economic and cultural development, protection of the traditional environment, traditional lifestyle, traditional economy and occupations on the principle of voluntary, prior and informed agreement by the indigenous peoples as proclaimed by the UN Declaration on the Indigenous Rights ;

Imperfect legislation, lacking a number of norms guaranteeing the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East some specific rights in conformity with the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

Impossibility of the implementation of the right to use lands of various categories and other natural resources required for the leading and conservation of the traditional lifestyle, economy and occupations of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation in connection with their distribution on the basis of competitions and tenders.

In order to ensure the legal rights and interests of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation, the Congress believes that the following problems should be solved:

The refinement of the legislation regarding the protection of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East, including the rights to long-term use of lands of various categories, the use of natural resources required to maintain the traditional lifestyle, traditional economy and occupations serving as a basis for their sustainable development;

Ensuring the protection of the native environment, traditional lifestyle and traditional subsistence economies of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East, including the development and adoption of the federal laws : «On the Amendments to the Federal Law «On Traditional Subsistence Areas of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation» with the retaining of the status of the traditional subsistence territories as protected areas, «On the Protection of the Native Environment, Traditional Lifestyle and Traditional Subsistence of the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation »;

Approval of the method for assessment and redemption of the damage to the native environment and traditional lifestyle caused by the detrimental impact of the industrial use of natural resources and removal of lands for state and municipal use at the sites of traditional life and traditional subsistence of the  indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East;

Incorporation of enactments establishing the rights of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East into a special legal institution;

Solution to the problems of socio-economic development of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East and elimination of unemployment among them on the basis of governmental support by introducing state orders for traditional subsistence products of indigenous peoples, organization of high-level processing and marketing of the products of reindeer herding, fishing, sea fisheries, hunting, gathering and development of crafts;

Development of the social infrastructure facilities, medical, educational, cultural, social, transport and other facilities in the areas  of the traditional life and traditional subsistence activities of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East, taking into account their traditional lifestyles and culture;

Augmentation of the social protection of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East ;

Taking measures to render healthier the demographic situation among the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East ;

Settlement of the issues of guaranteed representation of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East in legal (representative) authorities of the entities of the Russian Federation and the representative authorities of the local administration; including the candidate lists of thye political parties and election in the state authorities  and inclusion onto  the lists of candidates from political parties of for election to the regional representative (legislative) state authorities of representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East to ensure representation of the above-mentioned peoples in the government bodies  of the Russian Federation;

Establishment of an institution of the authorized representatives of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East on the federal and regional levels ;

Establishment of a special division for protection of the rights and socio-economic development of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East under a federal executive authority;

Development of the mechanism of contribution by indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East to the development and implementation of enactments and state decisions regarding the protection of their native environment, socio-economic and cultural development, including the preparation and implementation of the plan for measures of under the Concept; preparation and implementation of the measures under the state support of economic and social development of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East through allocations from the budget of subsidies to the budgets of the entities of the Russian Federation;

Development and implementation of the measures of state support of economic development of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East under conditions of the world economic crisis ;

Augmentation of the role of territorial public self-administration by the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East where they have been traditionally residing.

Increase in the effectiveness of measures for the development of the cultures of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East due to their vulnerability in the face of modern industrial impact on the environment.

The Congress calls upon the President of the Russian Federation, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, legislative authorities (representative) and executive authorities of the entities of the Russian Federation, the international governmental and nongovernmental organizations to take the necessary measures to fulfill the above objectives.