UN Secretary-General Calls for Programme to Be Translated Into a Change for the Better in Life of Every Indigenous Person
Indigenous peoples representatives in their colourful traditional attire, senior UN officials and members of non-governmental organizations gathered in the General Assembly Hall Tuesday morning for the opening ceremony of the fifth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which also launched the Programme of Action of the Second International Decade of the Worlds Indigenous People.
Building on the achievements of the first such event (1995-2004), which placed a spotlight on the needs of indigenous peoples, the Second Decade seeks to further strengthen global cooperation for the achievement of indigenous peoples goals in the areas of culture, education, health, human rights, the environment and social and economic development, by means of action-oriented programmes and specific projects, increased technical assistance and relevant standard-setting activities.
The end of the Second Decade in 2015 coincides with the year benchmarked for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, building a close overlap of the two issues.
The Goals represent a set of internationally agreed objectives, which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, all by the target date of 2015. The Permanent Forum this year will focus on key developmental concerns through this years theme “Millennium Development Goals and indigenous peoples: redefining the Goals”.
In a video message to the Forum, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the Programme of Action was meant to give practical effect to the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit “for the benefit of all indigenous peoples – from the northern reaches of the Arctic to the pastoralist communities of Africa”.
The Summit had reaffirmed Member States commitment to preserve and maintain the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous communities. During the Summit, Member States had recognized that sustainable development of indigenous peoples was crucial in the fight against hunger and poverty. They pledged to keep advancing the human rights of indigenous peoples, and to present for adoption a UN declaration on indigenous peoples rights as soon as possible.
– Today, I call on all States to work with indigenous peoples to translate the Programme into reality on the ground. Let us aim to make it mean something positive – a change for the better – in the life of every indigenous person, wherever he or she may live, Mr. Annan said.
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, José Antonio Ocampo, said that, as the Coordinator of the Second Decade, he would insist on creating synergies of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the overarching goals of the Second Decade by means of particular projects.
The international community was making progress, but to reach the goals of the Second Decade and the Millennium Goals by 2015, it was necessary to translate international commitments into concrete programmes and projects.
He urged all the stakeholders to implement specific programmes for the Decade and contribute to the Trust Fund for indigenous issues. As Coordinator of the Decade, he was looking forward to building a meaningful partnership to promote the well-being and dignity of indigenous peoples.
Delivering a message on behalf of the General Assembly President, the Acting President of that body, Eladio Loizaga (Paraguay), also highlighted the need to protect the environment and safe use of natural resources for the benefit of indigenous peoples.
Since history had always been made in the General Assembly Hall, he also expressed hope that one day soon the Assembly would gather to adopt the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people.
Noting that the work on the draft declaration had finally wrapped up in February 2006, after 11 years of work, the Forums Chairperson, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, said that the creation of a set of legal standards at the international level would ensure respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.
In some countries, where the rights of indigenous peoples had been barely acknowledged in the past, the declaration would be particularly important. She hoped that the draft would be part of the agenda of the first session of the newly established Human Rights Council and that it would be adopted by the Assembly before the end of the year.
With the special theme of the session devoted to the “Millennium Development Goals and indigenous people”, several speakers Tuesday focused on the need to redefine those Goals with special emphasis on full participation of indigenous people.
Milialani Trask, representative of the Indigenous Caucus, said such a review would require taking a hard look at systematic racism, discrimination and non-recognition of indigenous peoples human rights. Political, social and environmental injustices perpetuated poverty among the worlds indigenous people.
She called urgently for the social indicators on which the Goals had been based to be redefined, so that they were not framed by market and cash-based analyses.
Indeed, the much-discussed “one-dollar-a-day” parameter did not begin to adequately measure poverty in the worlds vast and varied indigenous communities, she stressed.
That figure did not show whether there was adequate education, health-care coverage or even food and clothing for indigenous people. The key goal for indigenous people gathering in New York was to work with the Forum to find more culturally appropriate indicators for the international development agenda.
Leading off the Forums consideration of the status of the Millennium Development Goals, Bolivias Foreign Minister, David Choquehuanca Cepedes, recalled that, after five centuries of marginalization, exploitation and pillaging of their natural resources, his countrys indigenous populations had been able to appoint an indigenous person as President of Bolivia last December.
Now, with the help of all the indigenous people of the country, continent and the world, Bolivias new Government intended to show that a new life of harmony and peace was dawning for indigenous people, as well as all the people of the world. Indigenous people continent-wide were rising up to practise or resurrect their languages and cultures, celebrating their traditions openly and actively seeking brotherhood with other peoples, nations and the cosmos.
– We must decide for ourselves what we want and how we want to live, he said, calling for indigenous peoples to return to their traditional lands in order to better manage efforts to improve water and air quality, and promote or generate more targeted socio-economic policies.
Speakers in the afternoon discussion expressed deep concern over the fact that the Millennium Development Goals process did not take into account the real situation of the indigenous people, which included
– the lack of voice in political systems,
– the lack of recognition of their collective rights,
– their removal from ancestral lands, and
– their lack of access to basic infrastructure and social services.
It was pointed out that making up less than 5 per cent of the worlds population, indigenous peoples comprised 15 per cent of the planets poor.
In that connection, the Assistant President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Phrang Roy, said that unless the strategies in support of the indigenous peoples were redefined, international initiatives could become meaningless to them or could even lead to accelerated loss of their lands, natural resources and cultures.
Experience showed that indigenous peoples did not see poverty solely as the lack of income – they associated it with a trampling of their dignity, humiliation and powerlessness. Displacement of their communities from their traditional lands, the marginalization of their traditional institutions and militarization of the territories were some of the realities of their poverty and powerlessness.
– We must together work for a world where indigenous peoples would have the right to grow old, have the right to live and die in their restored lands and territories, and where our children will be able to imagine a future with dignity and rights, the Chairperson of the Forum said.
Also taking the floor were members of the Forum, among them Ida Nicolaisen of Denmark.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was established by the Economic and Social Council in July 2000.
It was called upon to provide expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the UN system through the Council; raise awareness and promote the integration and coordination of relevant activities within the United Nations system; and disseminate information on indigenous issues.
The Forum is comprised of 16 independent experts, functioning in their personal capacity. The Council appoints the members, eight of whom are nominated by Governments and eight directly by indigenous organizations in their regions.
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