United Nations (Martínez Cobo report)

About

The Martínez Cobo Study: formally the Study of the Problem of Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations: was a landmark United Nations study by Special Rapporteur José R. Martínez Cobo for the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. Commissioned in the early 1970s, its final report was submitted in five volumes between 1981 and 1984; Chapter V set out a working definition of “Indigenous peoples” that remains widely cited today. The study also led, in 1982, to the creation of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations.

In the commons it is the foundational reference behind the definition of Indigenous and related terms in the Indigenous & Tribal Sovereignty chapter.

Data note: the year 1972 reflects the study’s commissioning; the definition-bearing final report dates to 1981–1984.

Access

This is a United Nations document. The UN DESA page previously linked by the commons is no longer available, and the commons does not hold a local copy.