Message on the International Day of the World's Indigenous People
Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz,
Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
9 August 2005
Today, the international community has come together to commemorate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, which is officially commemorated on 9 August annually in recognition of the first meeting of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva in 1982.
In 1994, the date was celebrated for the first time at the beginning of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People declared by the United Nations General Assembly. Since then, many indigenous peoples’ organizations and movements worldwide, and also some governments made it a tradition to celebrate this historic day. It is an occasion for indigenous peoples to assess where they are in their bid to have their rights recognized and respected and to plan where they are going in the years to come.
Now, that the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People has been proclaimed by the General Assembly, starting in January this year, we have in front of us the chance to achieve one of the unmet objectives of the First Decade, the adoption of the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This should happen in the first two years of the Second Decade. The goal of the Second Decade is to further the "strengthening of international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment, and social and economic development, by means of action-oriented programs and specific projects, increased technical assistance, and relevant standard-setting activities”. To reach this goal , we should learn lessons from the earlier decade and we should build upon the gains achieved in the First Decade, some of which are the following:
• the establishment of more indigenous peoples’ organizations, networks and movements at various levels in various parts of the world.
• the coming into being of policies and laws of some States and intergovernmental bodies which promote and respect indigenous peoples’ rights, and
• the creation of additional spaces and mechanisms in the international arena which allow for indigenous peoples’ direct participation, foremost of which is the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
The main challenge is how to ensure the implementation of existing policies and laws and legal obligations of Governments to international instruments. Indigenous peoples number more than 370 million and the majorities are still faced with the violations of their individual and collective human rights. Many of them are still forcibly removed from their ancestral territories, are robbed of their cultures and identities, are still subjected to the worst forms of discrimination and suffer from extreme and chronic poverty. The implementation of laws and policies recognizing indigenous peoples’ rights and the compliance of States to their international legal and political obligations are significant steps in rectifying this unacceptable situation. Thanks to the efforts of the international indigenous peoples’ movement and their dynamic partnership with the United Nations system, the indigenous peoples’ continuing local, national and regional struggles for cultural survival, human rights, development and peace have been brought to the attention of the international community.
During the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, it is fundamental to close the gap between what is viewed as a mainstream development model and indigenous peoples’ own visions, perceptions and actual implementation of self-determining development. This includes their struggle for their rights to their lands and natural resources and for the recognition and establishment of the necessary political, institutional and social bases for indigenous societies to coexist with the rest of the world. The Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals have the potential to contribute in closing this gap, but this can only happen if these are made more sensitive and responsive to the realities of and recommendations from indigenous peoples. Several of these recommendations are found in the report of the Fourth Session of the Permanent Forum which was held from 16-27 May 2005.
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which is the newest subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, has been working within the UN system, with States and indigenous peoples to improve the situation of indigenous peoples in the areas of economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. Among the Permanent Forum’s remarkable achievements in its first four years of existence is the mainstreaming of indigenous issues across the United Nations system, of which the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues is playing a key role, and the designation of indigenous issues as one of the priorities of the United Nations Development Group for 2004. The Permanent Forum is pursuing major methodological issues such as data-collection and disaggregation concerning indigenous peoples, the respect for the free prior and informed consent and the full and meaningful participation of indigenous representatives across relevant programmes. Work programmes have been and are being developed to make progress on indigenous issues across the United Nation system with special emphasis on the most vulnerable of sections of indigenous communities – the indigenous women and children.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is deeply committed to play its role in helping consolidate the submissions for the objectives and programme of the Second Decade and to help implement those which will be adopted by the General Assembly. I strongly appeal to various actors in the international community – States, the various U.N. bodies, agencies, programmes and funds and other intergovernmental bodies – to join hands in true partnership with the world’s indigenous peoples to achieve the goals, objectives and programmes of this Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous People. Have a meaningful International Day of the World’s Indigenous People!
