A United Nations official who visited North Dakota in the wake of months of protests over the Dakota Access pipeline says the concerns and rights of Native Americans haven't been adequately addressed.
March 3, 2017, at 1:02 p.m.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, recently visited North Dakota in the wake of months of protests over the Dakota Access pipeline. (BEBETO MATTHEWS/AP PHOTO)
By BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A United Nations official who visited North Dakota in the wake of months of protests over the Dakota Access pipeline believes the concerns and rights of Native Americans haven't been adequately addressed.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. She believes authorities used unnecessary force against protesters, that the Standing Rock Sioux tribe wasn't properly consulted, and that the issue of trash left by protesters has been overblown.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says the state has respected legal protests. He says it focused on maintaining peace and protecting the environment. He says his administration is restoring relations with the Standing Rock Sioux.
Tauli-Corpuz will make a report in September to the U.N. Human Rights Council. It will have no force of law.
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