PRESS BRIEFING ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Press Release
PRESS BRIEFING ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
19980804 At a Headquarters press briefing today to discuss events in New York on 5 and 6 August to commemorate the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, Elsa Stamatopoulou, Deputy Director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said progress had been made by the indigenous movement that arose in the 1970s. In the field of human rights, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, which was established in 1982, continued to attract unprecedented participation compared with any other United Nations forum on indigenous people. Every year, more than 700 representatives of indigenous people attended its meetings in Geneva.[The Working Group on Indigenous Populations was established by the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The Subcommission serves as a subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights.]
She said two voluntary funds had been established, one to enable representatives to attend meetings of the Working Group in Geneva, and another to finance special projects connected with the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004). A draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people was also being elaborated, she said.
A number of very important studies had been drafted with one, on treaties between indigenous people and governments, completed recently. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, was the coordinator of the Decade and the High Commissioner had repeatedly said many times that the issue was a priority.
The first issue continued to be the physical survival of indigenous people, many of whom faced major problems in conflict zones, she said. The second, was ethnocide -- a major plight facing indigenous communities who were denied their right to live within their cultures. The third major area of concern was the basic survival of indigenous people. That concern was interrelated to matters of land and natural resources, self-determination and the right to culture, language and education.
Roberto Mucaso Bornero, a historian and a leading authority on the Taino Indian culture of Puerto Rico, said the International Day of Indigenous People fell on 9 August, but would be marked at United Nations Headquarters on 5 and 6 August. Events included a sacred pipe ceremony for peace. A conference on education and language -- the theme of the commemoration this year -- would also be held. There would be a blessing for children which would be performed by a traditional chief from Ghana, Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II. Another blessing for peace would be offered by an elder from the Venezuelan Amazon.
Esmeralda Brown, Chairperson of the non-governmental organizations Committee on the International Decade, said the United Nations had pledged to improve the situation of more than 300 million indigenous people. The main objective of the Decade was the strengthening of international cooperation in support of indigenous people in such areas as human rights, environment, health, culture and education. The indigenous community must continue to reiterate those objectives.
She appealed to the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, other international and national agencies, communities and private enterprises, to devote special attention to development activities which benefitted indigenous communities. Another objective of the Decade was the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous people. In addition, indigenous peoples must be empowered to make choices that would enable them to maintain their cultural identity while participating in national economic and social life.
Nina Sibal, Director of the New York Office of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said UNESCO, in 1986, had launched the "LINGUAPAX", a concept of multiculturalism which had shaped the work of UNESCO in support of indigenous people. For UNESCO, the concept embodied the ideal of reconciling respect for diversity and the promotion of universally shared values and norms. The UNESCO had a number of projects, among them support for the culture of peace. That project had three components: forging partnerships; educating for a culture of peace; and a culture of peace in action. She said the last session of the General Assembly had proclaimed the year 2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace, with UNESCO seving as the focal point. The UNESCO intended to bring support for indigenous people into the programme of action which it had been asked to devise for the Year.
What about the victims? a correspondent asked. Had anything specifically been done to help them within the last 16 years?
Ms. Stamatopoulou said the most difficult aspect of human rights work was to evaluate the degree to which it had helped and to what extent it had prevented victimization. That was really the core question in terms of effectiveness. Since 1982, when she first became involved with the issue of indigenous people, sure progress had been made. Awareness had been heightened and indigenous representatives participating in international conferences, especially from the most isolated tribes and nations, had experienced tremendous solidarity and empowerment.
In addition, Governments now understood that violations of the rights of indigenous people would not go unnoticed, she said. They were also beginning to take into account indigenous concerns in areas of development. The cultures and voices of indigenous people had to be respected in projects that concerned them.
Indigenous People Briefing - 3 - 4 August 1998
Mr. Borrero, said that although his ancestors were the first people to have met Columbus in 1492, their ethnic group was not officially recognized by the national Government. Only recently because of the international attention to indigenous issues, were communities from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba able to meet. His people had been able to see how much they shared with those of nearby islands in terms of language and traditional customs despite their political isolation. While such meetings did not resolve the key issues of discrimination, poverty and hunger, they heightened awareness and brought people together.
Ms. Sibal said the answer to UNESCO's effectiveness lay in its ability to empower people. Creating awareness of the situation facing indigenous people and the need to empower them enough to become real partners had been the focus of UNESCO's activity. Relevant declarations and appeals, such as the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, drew attention to the conditions of extreme poverty and political marginality faced by the majority of indigenous people, and invited political leaders to listen to the many voices clamouring for dignity, justice and solidarity for all. Continuing, she said that the Guadalajara Declaration, adopted by the first Ibero/American Summit of Heads of State and Government, had acknowledged the immense contribution of indigenous peoples to the development and plurality of society. It renewed their commitment to the economic and social well-being of indigenous people, as well as governments' obligation to respect their rights and cultural identity.
Another correspondent said he could not understand how awareness could be created without rendering accountable the former colonial powers that had destroyed races of people. He asked what UNESCO would do about that situation.
Ms. Sibal said that it was not possible to measure awareness, and that while a declaration produced in Chappas in 1991, for example, had not solved the problem of the Chappas people, it had certainly expanded awareness. One concrete initiative of UNESCO included the "LINGUAPAX project", which she had earlier mentioned. It sought to promote a culture of peace through multilingual education and respect for linguistic diversity. The UNESCO had to work closely within its mandate, which was education, science, cultural diversity and communications. Through those four areas, it strove to increase awareness and to enlarge the bounds of intellectual and moral solidarity.
While those sounded like mere words and not deeds, she pointed out that words were the currency of UNESCO; they were its strength and its wealth. She then asked the correspondent what he felt UNESCO should do to advance the cause, reminding him that it was not a political organization, but rather an intellectual specialized inter-governmental agency.
Indigenous People Briefing - 4 - 4 August 1998
The correspondent said that UNESCO should somehow commemorate the death of the Taino people who were murdered by the millions by the Spanish and the Portugese. The UNESCO could strive to ensure that the situation was not repeated. He said that he was from a country where one million Taino people had been killed.
Ms. Stamatopoulou reminded the correspondent that the Taino people were not extinct. Another impact of the tremendous awareness had been a revival of indigenous cultures and a reclaiming of identities. A recent American census poll revealed a dramatically larger number of people identifying themselves as Native American Indians compared to previous census studies.
A correspondent asked whether the United Nations viewed East Timor as a place of oppressed indigenous people were oppressed.
Ms. Stamatopoulou said that some people originally felt that the concept of indigenous people was linked only to classical, well-known colonialism, but that was not at all the definition accepted by the United Nations today. In fact, the largest number of indigenous people lived in Asia. Those people had been subjugated by the mainstream society of their own region. The United Nations had not dealt with the subject of East Timor as an indigenous one because the larger issue was much more flagrant and in the forefront of political discussions.
Asked about study on international treaties, Ms. Stamatopoulou said that the study on treaties was just completed and presented in Geneva. It had taken some 10 years to complete and would be available in her office by next week. It explored the present validity of agreements between indigenous people and colonial powers. It was mostly with classic colonial powers.
Concerning the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, she said that in 1993 a working group had completed the draft. Representatives of indigenous groups had considered it to be an extremely good draft. Now, text was being reviewed by a working group of the Commission on Human Rights, which was making slow progress. Optimistically, the General Assembly should adopt the text by the year 2004. It contained difficult points concerning land, natural resources, and self-determination -- the fundamental questions that impacted on territorial and economic issues.
Asked about future plans of forums for young people, Mr. Borrero drew attention to the third session of the World Youth Forum of the United Nations system currently under way in Braga, Portugal. The Forum had attracted many indigenous groups, including some from Canada. It was important to note the occurrence of such initiatives. The Forum followed a meeting in Geneva of a working group of indigenous populations. So, there were a lot of things happening.
Indigenous People Briefing - 5 - 4 August 1998
To a question about concrete examples of programmes for preserving the oral versions of indigenous languages, since written versions often did not exist, Ms. Stamatopoulou said that Canada had just accepted indigenous oral languages as official. Ms. Sibal added that UNESCO had just set up a special language division within its education sector based on the growing need to preserve oral heritages, principally through language.
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