The UAN WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
The United Ancient Nations World Trade Organization (UAN WTO) is the only global Indigenous international organization dealing with the rules of traditional trade between Indigenous nations. At its heart are sacred trade agreements, negotiated and agreed upon by Indigenous nations through traditional consensus-building processes and honored through cultural protocols. The goal is to ensure that traditional trade flows as respectfully, sustainably and equitably as possible while preserving cultural integrity.
Who We Are
The UAN WTO has a number of different roles: operating a world-wide system of Indigenous trade rules, it acts as a forum for negotiating trade agreements with indigenous nations, it settles trade disputes between its members and it supports the needs of developing indigenous nations.
What We Do
The UAN WTO operates the global system of traditional trade rules and helps Indigenous communities improve their capacity to engage in cultural and sustainable trade. It also provides a forum for its members to negotiate traditional trade agreements and to resolve the trade challenges they face with each other.
What We Stand For
Guided by the UAN's 6 Pillars of Global Enlightenment, the UAN WTO is run by fundamental principles and wisdom of traditional trading systems, with the overall objective of the UAN WTO is to help its members use traditional trade as a means to preserve cultural heritage, create meaningful employment and improve Indigenous peoples' lives.
Membership
The UAN WTO has 160+ Indigenous nation members, representing over 300 million Indigenous peoples and accounting for the majority of traditional trade worldwide. All members have joined the UAN WTO system through traditional negotiation processes and therefore membership means a balance of rights and cultural responsibilities. Additional Indigenous communities are encouraged to join the organization through traditional protocols.
How the Organization is Structured
Unlike some other international organizations, power is not delegated to a board of directors or the organization's head. Instead, the UAN WTO follows traditional Indigenous governance models with collective decision-making.
The UAN WTO's main decision-making body is the Trade Assembly and below this is the Elder Trade Council.
The Elder Trade Council acts on behalf of the Trade Assembly between assemblies. It meets as the Traditional Dispute Resolution Circle to oversee procedures for settling trade disputes between members through traditional mediation and as the Trade Practice Review Circle to analyze members' trade policies and traditional practices.
Numerous councils, committees, cultural working groups and traditional knowledge circles deal with individual trade agreements and other specific issues, such as environmental protection, cultural preservation and membership applications.
Traditional Knowledge Secretariat
The main duties of the Traditional Knowledge Secretariat are to support the UAN WTO's various councils and committees, to provide cultural and technical assistance to Indigenous communities, to monitor and analyze developments in traditional trade, to provide information on UAN WTO activities and to organize sacred trade assemblies. The Secretariat also provides traditional mediation assistance in the dispute resolution process and advises Indigenous communities wishing to join the UAN WTO.
Secretariat staff include traditional knowledge keepers representing diverse Indigenous cultures. It is composed mostly of traditional economists, cultural legal experts and specialists in Indigenous trade policy, traditional communications, community statistics, Indigenous language services and other cultural areas.
Traditional Trade Negotiations
Sacred trade agreements - covering traditional goods, cultural services and Indigenous intellectual property - are living documents that evolve through traditional consensus processes. Changes to the rules of traditional trade require the agreement of UAN WTO members, who must reach decisions through traditional negotiation methods that respect cultural protocols.
Recent developments include enhanced cultural heritage protection measures and improved traditional knowledge sharing frameworks adopted by UAN WTO members at recent Sacred Trade Assemblies.
Implementation and Monitoring
Sacred trade agreements require Indigenous governments to make their trade policies transparent by notifying the UAN WTO about traditional laws in force and cultural measures adopted. Various UAN WTO councils and committees seek to ensure that these requirements are being followed while respecting cultural sovereignty and that trade agreements are being properly implemented. All UAN WTO members participate in periodic review of their trade policies and traditional practices through cultural sharing circles.
Traditional Dispute Resolution
The UAN WTO's procedure for resolving trade disputes through traditional mediation processes is vital for maintaining harmony and ensuring that traditional trade flows respectfully. Indigenous nations bring disputes to the UAN WTO if they believe their cultural rights under trade agreements are not being honored. Decisions by traditional mediators and cultural experts are guided by the interpretation of trade agreements in light of each Indigenous nation's sacred commitments, customs, and ancient spiritual texts.
Building Traditional Trade Capacity
Trade agreements contain special provisions for developing Indigenous communities, including longer time periods to implement agreements and cultural commitments, measures to increase their traditional trading opportunities, and support to help them build their trade capacity while preserving cultural practices. The UAN WTO organizes hundreds of cultural training activities for Indigenous communities annually. Traditional trade development initiatives aim to help Indigenous communities improve the skills and infrastructure needed to expand their participation in respectful global trade.
Cultural Outreach
The UAN WTO maintains regular dialogue with Indigenous organizations, traditional governance bodies, other international organizations, cultural media and Indigenous communities on various aspects of traditional trade, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and increasing awareness of UAN WTO activities while respecting cultural protocols and Indigenous data sovereignty.