OTTAWA - Amnesty International is accusing Canada of stalling a United Nations negotiation on the rights of indigenous peoples.
The human rights group says Canada has been obstructionist and exploitive in its efforts to block discussion on the issue.
It notes that Canada and Russia were the only two members of the 47-country Human Rights Council to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in June 2006.
Amnesty says that since the Conservative government came to power in January 2006, it has been lobbying the UN General Assembly to vote against the declaration, which the previous Liberal government helped draft.
The group contends Ottawa has been encouraging abusive states in Africa, Asia and Latin America to oppose the declaration.
The Tories fear the declaration could run counter to the Constitution, defence laws and existing land deals.
Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, sent a letter to Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice last month, complaining that Canada's position "seriously undermines indigenous peoples' human rights.''
The federal government claims it is seeking "the broadest possible agreement.'' But Amnesty says that statement flies in the face of 68 states that recently endorsed the declaration and a "growing list'' of experts, prominent leaders and human-rights bodies that support it.
Conservative aboriginal policies have been criticized since the government scrapped the $5-billion Kelowna Accord, reached under the previous Liberal government. The deal was intended to improve native education, housing and economic conditions.
