Post by Gerard Willemsen on Sept 21, 2007 13:34:17 GMT 1
The 13th Sept was a good day for the Indigenous peoples of the world. "By a vote of 143 in favour to 4 against (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States), with 11 abstentions, the Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which sets out the individual and collective rights of the world’s 370 million native peoples, calls for the maintenance and strengthening of their cultural identities, and emphasizes their right to pursue development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations." the UN writes in the press release. Even if the Declaration is non-binding, hopes are that this will give a good instrument to put pressure on governments. It will certainly strengthen the case of the Sámi in Scandinavia.
A long process came to a result with this. The only thing difficult to understand (or maybe not?) are the 4 countries voting against.
Read more at www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/ga10612.doc.htm and find the Declaration text at www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/E.CN.4.SUB.2.RES.1994.45.En?OpenDocument
A long process came to a result with this. The only thing difficult to understand (or maybe not?) are the 4 countries voting against.
Read more at www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/ga10612.doc.htm and find the Declaration text at www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/E.CN.4.SUB.2.RES.1994.45.En?OpenDocument