their development policies, especially in reference to their exploitation of natural resources. Morover, Resolution No. 3171 (XXVIII) states that a better use of natural resources is possible when the steps to be taken include all stages, from exploration to marketization.171
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change172 explicitly refers to the sovereign right of states to exploit resources in accordance with their own development policy. One of the objectives of the Energy Charter Treaty was to help Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States173 to develop their energy potential and to stimulate their economic growth. In addition, the regulations contained in the Conventions on the Succession of the States of 1978 and 1983 regarding the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources indirectly aim at reserving the benefits from the exploitation of natural resources for the nations of newly independent states.174
3.2.2 The duty to exercise the nation’s sovereignty for the development and prosperity of nations
Resolution No. 523 (VI)175 provides for the rights of underdeveloped countries to freely determine how their natural resources will be used under the condition that they are used in a way that will lead them to achieve the best position for further implementation of their economic development plans, in accordance with their national interests. Resolution No. 626 (VII)176 sets less stringent conditions stating that the use of resources is to proceed as countries deem it desirable for their own progress and economic development. Resolution No. 1803 (XVII),177 on the other hand, contains specific guidelines on the exercise of the right to permanent sovereignty, stressing in the first paragraph that the right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their wealth and natural resources must be done in the interest of their national development and the well-being of the inhabitants of a given state. In this way, the UN General Assembly clearly linked the exercise of permanent sovereignty over natural resources with the requirement to promote the development of the country and the well-being of its population that should benefit from the exploitation of resources and the related development of the country. Subsequent resolutions containing references to permanent sovereignty took into account only very general guidelines, such as promoting the country’s development, or even did not provide any guidelines in this respect, imposing only a general duty to exercise permanent sovereignty freely and fully.178
Multilateral treaties impose this obligation indirectly. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that under no circumstances may nations be deprived of their own means of subsistence.179 In addition, both pacts contain a statement that their provisions cannot be interpreted as violating the inherent right of all nations, that they would enjoy their wealth and resources and use them fully and freely.180 The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights provides for the right to permanent sovereignty over natural resources to be exercised in the exclusive interest of the people and affirms that in no circumstances can a nation be deprived of it.181
The African Convention for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources182 emphasizes the need to manage and use resources in a manner that takes into account the social and economic needs of nations or states, obliging states to adopt scientifically-based plans for forest and pasture management, taking into account the social and economic needs of the country.183 Similarly, the Treaty for Amazonian Cooperation184 establishes socio-economic development as one of its goals and indicates that responsibility for this development lies with the state as a sovereign. This goal was then repeated in the Amazonian Declaration.185 In the preamble to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on nature conservation and natural resources, states-parties have recognized the importance of natural resources and the importance of developing their forest management plans to maintain optimal efficiency and avoid a permanent capital shortfall in resources.186
In international jurisprudence and arbitration, national obligations to use natural resources for the development and well-being of nations have not yet been directly taken into account. However, there are references to the interest of local communities and their dependence on natural resources located in places perceived as land territory and waters belonging to these communities.187
3.2.3 The duty to respect the rights and interests of indigenous peoples
Increased awareness that the population living in a given territory is not always a homogeneous community but may consist of different nations and minorities, including indigenous peoples, led to the introduction of actions to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. In the initial period, the protection of indigenous peoples was understood in a general way as protection of national minorities.188 On the recommendation of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities,189 the UN Economic and Social Council initiated in 1971 a study into the problem of indigenous discrimination. The Special Report of 1982190 proposed the following definition of indigenous peoples:
Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.
Founded in 1982, the Working Group on indigenous peoples191 was given a mandate to review human rights concerning specifically indigenous peoples and to develop standards to protect these rights. Serving as an important forum for discussing the plight of indigenous peoples, the Working Group focused its efforts on developing a Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which in 1994 was adopted by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and sent to the UN Human Rights Commission.192 The Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples also refers to the rights of this population in the scope of managing their natural resources. The preamble expressed the fear that indigenous people were deprived of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including as a result of their colonization and plundering of their lands,
