Canada pushing to include Indigenous rights in United Nations plastics treaty

By Canadian Press on August 6, 2025.

OTTAWA — Canada is pushing to bring language recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples back into a United Nations plastics pollution treaty.

Delegates from more than 170 countries are in Geneva to resume negotiations on a treaty that was supposed to be finalized last year.

Countries are at odds on how far the legally binding agreement should go, with many nations opposing caps on plastic production.

Following negotiations in South Korea in November, which ended without an agreement, the draft version of the treaty removed references to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Canada, with the backing of 45 other countries, presented a proposal Tuesday to put UNDRIP language back in to the treaty.

Scientists estimate the world disposes of more than 350 million tonnes of plastic every year, with less than one-tenth being recycled and more than one-fifth ending up in the environment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press