ABSTRACT
A survey was carried out of 15 recent international declarations and statements concerning the rights of indigenous peoples in order to elucidate the views and concerns of indigenous peoples concerning equitable research partnerships. These particular statements and declarations were chosen for three reasons. Firstly, they are quite well known and influential, being perhaps the most frequently cited of all such documents. Secondly, the texts of each statement were agreed upon by representatives of indigenous peoples from various countries and can therefore be said to indicate a broad international consensus concerning the issues they address. Although not all were written by indigenous peoples, all of them reflect the authentic views of a large number of indigenous peoples’ organizations that had
met together to discuss matters that were of common concern.13 Third, they are all intended for a large international audience, including indigenous peoples, national and international policy-makers and intergovernmental organizations, and as a consequence are sophisticated, carefully worded and well informed.
