United Nations General Assembly adopts historic Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Links to Declaration in the News:

Rebecca Sommer News Reel for Earth Peoples: The Indigenous Perspective

BBC: Indigenous Rights outlined by UN

IPS News: Native Peoples Score Historic Political Victory

UN PFII statements by Chair of Permanent Forum and Global Indigenous Caucus

The General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples today, Thursday September 13, by a vote of 143 in favour, 4 against and 11 abstensions.

PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK, 13 SEPTEMBER 2007

MESSAGE OF VICTORIA TAULI-CORPUZ, CHAIRPERSON OF
THE UN PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES,
ON THE OCCASION OF THE ADOPTION BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Through the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, the United Nations marks a major victory in its long history
towards developing and establishing international human rights
standards. It marks a major victory for Indigenous Peoples who actively
took part in crafting this Declaration. The 13th of September 2007 will
be remembered as an international human rights day for the Indigenous
Peoples of the world, a day that the United Nations and its Member
States, together with Indigenous Peoples, reconciled with past painful
histories and decided to march into the future on the path of human
rights.

I hail representatives of Indigenous Peoples who patiently exerted
extraordinary efforts for more than two decades to draft and negotiate
the Declaration. This Declaration has the distinction of being the only
Declaration in the UN which was drafted with the rights-holders,
themselves, the Indigenous Peoples. I hail the independent experts and
representatives of States and NGOs who contributed actively to this
process. This magnificent endeavour which brought you to sit together
with us, Indigenous Peoples, to listen to our cries and struggles and to
hammer out words which will respond to these is unprecedented.

The long time devoted to the drafting of the Declaration by the United
Nations stemmed from the conviction that Indigenous Peoples have rights
as distinct peoples and that a constructive dialogue among all would
eventually lead to a better understanding of diverse worldviews and
cultures, a realignment of positions and, finally, to the building of
partnerships between states and Indigenous Peoples for a more just and
sustainable world.

For the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Declaration will
become the major foundation and reference in implementing its mandate to
advise members of the Economic and Social Council and the UN agencies,
programmes and funds on indigenous peoples’ human rights and
development. It is a key instrument and tool for raising awareness on
and monitoring progress of indigenous peoples’ situations and the
protection, respect and fulfillment of indigenous peoples’ rights. It
will further enflesh and operationalize the human rights-based approach
to development as it applies to Indigenous Peoples. It will be the main
framework to guide States, UN bodies, Indigenous Peoples and civil
society in making the theme of the Second Decade of the World’s
Indigenous Peoples “Partnership for Action and Dignity” a reality.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is explicitly
asked in Article 42 of the Declaration to promote respect for and full
application of the provisions of the Declaration and follow-up the
effectiveness of this Declaration. On behalf of the Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues, I commit the Forum’s devotion to this duty.

This is a Declaration which sets the minimum international standards for
the protection and promotion of the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Therefore, existing and future laws, policies, and programs on
indigenous peoples will have to be redesigned and shaped to be
consistent with this standard.

Effective implementation of the Declaration will be the test of
commitment of States and the whole international community to protect,
respect and fulfill indigenous peoples collective and individual human
rights. I call on governments, the UN system, Indigenous Peoples and
civil society at large to rise to the historic task before us and make
the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples a living document
for the common future of humanity.

For further information:

Email: vicky@tebtebba.org, vtcorpuz2006@yahoo.com
Website: www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii
www.tebtebba.org