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Decision COP XIV/12
CBD/COP/DEC/14/12

The Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines for the Repatriation of Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Relevant for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity

The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling Article 17 of the Convention, which requires Parties to facilitate the exchange of information, from all publicly available sources, relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, including exchange of results of technical, scientific and socio-economic research as well as information on training and surveying programmes, specialized knowledge, indigenous and traditional knowledge, and where feasible, the repatriation of information,
Also recalling Article 18 of the Convention, which requires Parties, among other things, to promote technical and scientific cooperation as well as, in accordance with national legislation and policies, to encourage and develop methods of cooperation for the development and use of technologies, including indigenous and traditional technologies,
Emphasizing that the objective of the Rutzolijirisaxik  Voluntary Guidelines for the Repatriation of Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Relevant for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity is to facilitate the recovery of traditional knowledge relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, as stated in decision XIII/19,
Bearing in mind the importance of international cooperation for the repatriation of traditional knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and related and/or complementary information for indigenous peoples and local communities to facilitate the recovery of traditional knowledge of biological diversity, and taking into account the importance of indigenous peoples and local communities’ governance for restoration and management of their traditional knowledge,
Considering the importance of the effective implementation of the various international arrangements, instruments, programmes, strategies, standards, guidelines, reports and processes of relevance, and maintaining their mutual supportiveness, taking into account national legislation, and without prejudice to the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities,
Also considering the complexities involved in relation to some of the concepts addressed in the Rutzolijirisaxik Volu
ntary Guidelines, such as “publicly available” traditional knowledge,
Stressing the importance of legality, transparency and mutual respect and understanding in relations between indigenous peoples and local communities, on the one hand, and academics, the scientific community, private sector, educational, governmental and other users of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities, on the other,
Informational
1.Adopts the Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines for the Repatriation of Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Relevant for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity;
Operational Parties Other Government(s) Relevant organizations IPLC OTHERS
2.Invites Parties and other Governments, relevant organizations, and entities holding, storing or housing collections of traditional knowledge and related or complementary information, as well as indigenous peoples and local communities, and other stakeholders:
Operational Parties Other Government(s) IPLC Relevant organizations OTHERS
(a)To use the Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines, as appropriate, in their efforts to repatriate and restore traditional knowledge relevant for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity to the original knowledge holders, and where applicable, to facilitate the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of traditional knowledge, in particular through mutually agreed terms;
Operational Parties Other Government(s) IPLC Relevant organizations OTHERS
(b)To promote the Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines through educational and awareness-raising activities, as appropriate;
Operational Parties Other Government(s) OTHERS IPLC Relevant organizations
(c)To make available through the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal and the clearing-house mechanism, where appropriate, best practices, lessons learned and good examples and benefits of repatriation of traditional knowledge relevant for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits, including community-to-community exchanges and, where appropriate, through other knowledge sharing platforms;
Operational Parties Other Government(s) Relevant organizations OTHERS IPLC
(d)To report on experiences gained in using the Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines and, with a view to promote international, regional and bilateral cooperation, share best practices on relevant measures, where they exist, relating to repatriation of traditional knowledge, including repatriation of traditional knowledge shared across borders, through national reports, the clearing-house mechanism and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal  as a contribution to reporting on progress in the implementation of Article 8(j) and related provisions to the Subsidiary Body on Implementation and the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-Sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions at their next meetings and to invite Parties, other Governments and organizations to mobilize resources to finance the above mentioned activities;
Operational UNESCO
3.Invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to take into account the Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines;
Operational Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Relevant organizations
4.Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with relevant organizations, to support and facilitate, as appropriate, efforts made towards the use of the Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines.
Body
Conference of the Parties (COP)

Meeting
COP-14
Fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
17 - 29 November, 2018
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt

AICHI targets
9
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