----- Original Message -----
From: "Tebtebba Foundation" <tebtebbaf@yahoo.
To: <indigenous_wssd@
<philliprights@
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 1:08 PM
Subject: [indigenous_
7th Session Update No. 4: UN Press Release on the Opening and Day 1 of the
7th Session
Tebtebba Indigenous Information Service
UNPFII 7th Session Update No. 4
Dear Friends,
Please find below the UN Press Release on the Opening
Session and Day 1 Sessions of the 7th Session of the
UNPFII.
This morning, 22 April, indigenous peoples form the
global caucus and the regional indigenous caucuses
made interventions on the theme: "Climate Change,
biocultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship
role of indigenous peoples and new challenges."
We shall be sending copies of the interventions in the
coming updates.
Best regards,
Raymond de Chavez
Tebtebba
------------
21 April 2008
Economic and Social Council
HR/4944
Department of Public Information . News and Media
Division . New York
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Seventh Session
1st & 2nd Meetings (AM & PM)
BOLIVIA'S PRESIDENT URGES DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC
SYSTEM BASED ON 'HOW TO LIVE WELL', AS PERMANENT FORUM
ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES OPENS TWO-WEEK HEADQUARTERS
SESSION
Offers '10 Commandments' to Counter World's
'Unbridled' Development Model; Secretary-General:
Indigenous Have First-Hand Knowledge about Climate
Change Impact
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues opened its
seventh annual session today, it's first session since
the United Nations adopted the historic Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last September, and
with indigenous participants aiming to voice concerns
that, despite contributing little to the causes of
climate change, they are among the first to face its
consequences.
The special theme this year is the stewardship role of
indigenous peoples in relation to climate change,
biocultural diversity and livelihoods.
In the first-ever address to the Forum by a Head of
State, President Evo Morales of Bolivia urged the body
to develop a model for "how to live well", to counter
an economic system where a thirst for wealth had
overwhelmed a sense of respect for sustainable living.
In a speech greeted by cheers from an audience
comprising leaders of indigenous groups,
representatives of Member States and officials from
United Nations specialized agencies, President Morales
proposed a set of "10 commandments" that would offer
an alternative to "egoism, regionalism and the pursuit
of luxury".
The President said the Forum members should call for
an end to the current economic system, where, he said,
fossil fuels were being pillaged to fuel luxury motor
vehicles. The world should also denounce wars and rid
itself of imperialism and unfair competition among
nations. On that point, he said the Security Council
should be democratized, and questioned the validity of
having lifelong Council members with veto power over
rotating members.
The theme of power continued in President Morales'
fourth "commandment"
maintain full access to water for all, through an
international convention that would guarantee the
right to that life-giving resource as a matter of
human rights.
Returning to the theme of moderation in consumption,
he urged in an eighth commandment that people consume
only what was necessary and locally produced. His
ninth point centred on upholding unity in diversity,
while the tenth and final commandment stressed the
importance of living well, but not at the expense of
others.
In a nod to the session's special theme on the
stewardship role of indigenous peoples in managing the
environment, President Morales centred much of his
address on the notion of Mother Earth as the
wellspring of life, to be cherished and respected
rather than treated as a tradable commodity.
Indigenous peoples had the moral authority to shape a
new model for living based on that philosophy, he
stressed, having lived closely with Mother Earth and
defended it for ages.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a
video message, applauded the choice of climate change
as the special theme, saying that indigenous peoples
"can and should play a role in the global response"
due to their accumulation of first-hand knowledge on
the impacts of environmental degradation, including
climate change.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chairperson of the Permanent
Forum, who also spoke today, said the Forum had yet to
be invited by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change to participate in its process to
create a new climate change framework. Both the
problem of climate change and its solution were
concerns for indigenous peoples, she said, who --
according to a World Bank report -- contributed the
"smallest ecological footprints" on Earth, but
suffered the worst impacts from climate change and
mitigation measures, such as the loss of land to
biofuel production.
She added that, as stewards of diversity and with
their ecological knowledge, indigenous peoples could
significantly contribute to the development of
sustainable measures and helping move the world
towards low-carbon and sustainable communities.
On other matters, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz also noted the
discussion to be held later in the week as part of the
2008 International Year of Languages, and that a
discussion on the Pacific was being considered,
because the region had now given rise to the
phenomenon of "environmental refugees" forced to leave
small island States that were sinking due to rising
sea levels.
Léo Merores of Haiti, President of the Economic and
Social Council, also spoke today, while Jomo Kwama
Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic
Development, delivered a welcome address on behalf of
Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-
Social Affairs.
Also speaking were Bernie Yates, Deputy Secretary of
Australia's Department of Families, Housing, Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs, and Gunilla Olsson,
Executive Director of the Action Plan of the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Change Management, who spoke on behalf of IFAD
President Lennart Båge.
By tradition, the Forum's seventh session was opened
by an invocation from Tracy L. Shenandoah, Chief of
the Chief of Councils of the Onondaga Nation, Eel
Clan.
During its dialogue with United Nations agencies in
the afternoon, the Forum was addressed by the
representatives of the following United Nations
agencies, associated funds and programmes and
intergovernmental organizations: International Union
for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources;
United Nations Development Programme; International
Telecommunication Union; United Nations Population
Fund; International Labour Organization; United
Nations Children's Fund; United Nations International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction; United Nations Human
Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Also addressing the Forum were representatives of the
United Nations Institute for Training and Research;
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization; United Nations University; Food and
Agriculture Organization; World Bank; and
International Organization for Migration.
The Forum will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 22
April, to continue its dialogue with indigenous
peoples on the special theme "climate change,
biocultural diversity and livelihoods"
Background
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today opened
its seventh annual two-week session for a discussion
in which representatives of indigenous groups were
expected to focus on the themes of climate change,
biocultural diversity and livelihoods: the
stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new
challenges. Other matters to be taken up over the two
weeks included human rights, implementation of
recommendations and the ongoing priorities of
indigenous children and youth, the Second
International Decade for the World's Indigenous People
(2004-2014) and urban indigenous people and migration.
Half-day events were to focus on the Pacific and on
indigenous languages. (For background see Press
Release HR/4943 dated 18 April.)
Documents
The Forum had before it the session's agenda (document
E/C.19/2008/
(document E/C.19/2008/
were documents related to issues relevant to concerns
of indigenous peoples.
A paper prepared by two Forum members concerned
structures, procedures and mechanisms addressing the
human rights situation of indigenous peoples (document
E/C.19/2008/
Also before the Forum was a report of the
international expert group meeting on indigenous
languages (document E/C.19/2008/
Another document contained information received from
the United Nations Institute for Training and Research
(UNITAR) (document E/C.19/2008/
by the United Nations system and other
intergovernmental organizations on issues related to
indigenous peoples. Reports of other bodies in that
category and with that document number include those
by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)(Add.
the United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM)(Add.
Agricultural Development (INFAD)(Add.
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Add.4), the
International Labour Organization (ILO) (Add.5), the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (Add.6), the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (Add.7) and
the Forum's parent body, the United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Affairs (ECOSOC) (Add.8).
Further, information was received from other bodies of
the United Nations system (Add.9), including from the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,
the Department of Public Information, the World Food
Programme (WFP), the Council of Europe and the Asian
Development Bank. Also, from the Inter-American
Development Bank (Add.10) and from the United Nations
Forum on Forests within ECOSOC and the International
Organization for Migration (IMO) in one document
(Add.11).
Information was also received from the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) (Add.12) and from the
secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
and the World Intellectual Property Organization,
again in a single document with up to the minute
information (Add.13). There were also reports by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights (Add.14), the United Nations System in
Ecuador (Add.15), the Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO) (Add.16) and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) (Add.17).
Further before the Forum was information supplied in
response to the Forum's recommendations by the
Government of Ecuador (document E/C.19/2008/
Governments responding similarly and under the same
document symbol included those of Spain (Add.1),
Mexico (Add.2), Bolivia (Add.3), Peru (Add.4),
Colombia (Add.5), Russian Federation (Add.6) and
Venezuela (Add.7).
A report was also submitted by the secretariat of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (document
E/C.19/2008/
meeting of the Inter-Agency Support Group on
Indigenous Issues ( Montreal, 17-19 September). And
also before the Forum is an expert paper on forms of
education of indigenous children as crimes against
humanity (document E/C.19/2008/
Forum's secretariat also reported on ongoing
priorities and themes (document E/C.19/2008/
finally, the Forum has before it a report on
indicators of well-being, poverty and sustainability
relevant to indigenous peoples (document
E/C.19/2008/
Opening of Session
The opening proceedings of the Permanent Forum were
presided over by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant
Secretary-General for Economic Development.
According to tradition, the seventh session of the
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues opened with
expressions of gratitude from TRACY L. SHENANDOAH,
Chief of the Council of Chiefs of the Onondaga Nation,
Eel Clan. He gave thanks for everything that the
Creator had intended for the Earth, and expressed hope
that everything would be peaceful in the world.
Thanks were expressed to "our Mother, the Earth", for
carrying out her duties "to feed our people". He also
acknowledged the maple as the "leader of trees", and
gave thanks for the medicines that came from it. He
gave thanks to the animals, each with their own
duties, as well as the "three sisters" of all foods:
corn, beans and squash. He gave thanks to water, the
winds and the thunders; the sun and the "skyworld";
the stars; the "Four Beings" that watched over the
world; and the Creator's messengers.
"Looking out for the peace, for the faces yet to
come," he said, "is what we're working for."
Members of the Permanent Forum then elected by
acclamation Victoria Tauli-Corpuz as the Chairperson
for the session.
VICTORIA TAULI-CORPUZ, Chairperson of the Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues, recalled that the theme
for the Forum's seventh session was the stewardship
role of indigenous peoples and new challenges in
relation to climate change, bio-cultural diversity and
livelihoods. She said a record number of over 3,300
peoples had pre-registered for the current session
and, for the first time ever, a President of a Member
State would address the Forum. With his appearance,
Evo Morales Ayma, President of Bolivia and an
indigenous person who cared about indigenous peoples,
would inspire and strengthen indigenous peoples.
Further, she said, the adoption last year of the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the
Indigenous Peoples was a major victory that would
reshape the relationships between indigenous peoples,
States and society-at-large. The Forum was explicitly
mandated to promote implementation and a major focus
of the session would be to discuss how the Forum would
discharge the mandate.
Emphasizing the timeliness of the climate change
theme, she said the issue had become a global priority
in the past months. She had participated in the 2007
Bali process on an unofficial basis, because the Forum
had yet to be invited by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. She hoped the current
session would change that. Also, more information
needed to be gathered on how climate change affected
indigenous peoples. They contributed the least to
greenhouse gas emissions and made the "smallest
ecological footprints" on Earth, but suffered the
worst impacts from both climate change and mitigation
measures under the Kyoto Protocol and the unregulated
voluntary market. Both the problem and its solution
were concerns for indigenous peoples, most importantly
for their contributions in mitigating and adapting to
it.
Climate change was the ultimate evidence of how
unsustainable the dominant development model was, she
concluded. It was also the strongest argument for why
unsustainable consumption and production systems
should change radically. As stewards of diversity and
with their ecological knowledge, indigenous peoples
could significantly contribute to the development of
sustainable measures and the crafting of the path
towards low-carbon and sustainable communities.
Turning to highlights of the session, she noted the
discussion to be held as part of the 2008
International Year of Languages. She said the
information contained in the documents as outcomes of
regional meetings should be incorporated into
interventions. A discussion on the Pacific was being
considered, because the region had now given rise to
the phenomenon of "climate change refugees" or
"environmental refugees", such as indigenous peoples
forced to leave small island States that were sinking
due to rising sea levels. The session would also
focus on the "crucial" implementation of previous
Forum recommendations. Desk reviews and a website had
been set up to facilitate monitoring of country
reports. And, in another development, the United
Nations Development Group had issued Guidelines on
Indigenous Peoples' Issues to help country teams
better integrate the priorities of indigenous peoples
into programmes.
Secretary-General'
Addressing the Forum in a video message, BAN KI-MOON,
United Nations Secretary-General, said the United
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was
meeting at a historic crossroad, with the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples having been newly adopted. "You will work to
translate the Declaration into a living document at
the national and international levels," he said. "As
you do, you will promote the United Nations
development agenda and its vision of development for
all. This includes the poorest and most vulnerable, a
group to which many indigenous peoples belong."
He applauded the choice of climate change as the
special theme, noting that indigenous peoples lived in
many of the world's most biologically diverse areas.
Due to their accumulation of first-hand knowledge
about the impacts of environmental degradation,
including climate change, indigenous peoples "can and
should play a role in the global response".
He welcomed the session's focus on the Pacific, and
said the Forum was -- as appropriate -- paying close
attention to the issue of indigenous languages,
meeting, as it was, in the International Year of
Languages. By protecting and promoting indigenous
languages, it was possible to advance the dignity and
human rights of indigenous people and preserve the
cultural diversity of all humankind.
He said he looked forward to the Forum's
recommendations on all those important fronts.
Statement by President of Bolivia
EVO MORALES AYMA, President of Bolivia, said the Forum
was to be viewed as a model for "living together" and
was an extension of the decades-long struggle of
indigenous peoples for equality and justice. It was
also appropriate that the Forum focus on climate
change and the role of indigenous peoples in tackling
that problem, since indigenous peoples were human
beings with the same rights and responsibilities as
anyone else.
He noted that the indigenous movement had successfully
organized itself to defend access to land and basic
services, in the face of attacks and threats of
extermination. That fight should continue for as long
as needed. In the meantime, the Forum, along with
similar bodies, could put forward alternative economic
models to ensure the survival of indigenous peoples as
they continued their quest.
In the context of finding solutions to environmental
issues, including climate change, he said indigenous
peoples had the moral authority to participate in
those discussions, having lived closely with Mother
Earth and defended it for ages. Indigenous peoples in
Bolivia had "achieved the Presidency", enabling it to
proceed in the fight for justice and equality. It now
fell to gatherings of indigenous peoples, such as the
Forum, to work with other world leaders to encourage
them to play their part.
He said indigenous peoples wanted to express "how to
live well" within their vision of Mother Earth, which
was the source of life. Living well was not possible
under the current capitalist system, which sought to
turn Mother Earth into a capitalist good. The
conclusion had been reached in many circles that the
authorities of many places were to be blamed for
encouraging climactic factors that caused harm to
peoples, which had brought floods and global warming.
A conversation must be held with other communities on
establishing a new model for living. World leaders
must encourage more contact with indigenous peoples.
He offered a series of "ten commandments" that he
thought should underpin the new model, beginning with
the first: a call to end the capitalist system. The
capitalist system was inhuman and encouraged unbridled
economic development. The exploitation of human
beings and pillaging of natural resources must end, as
should wars aimed at securing access to those
resources. Also, the world should end the plundering
of fossil fuels; excessive consumption of goods; the
accumulation of waste; as well as the egoism,
regionalism and thirst for earning where the pursuit
of luxury was taking place at the expense of human
beings. Countries of the south were heaped with
external debt, when it was the ecological debt that
needed paying.
Second, the world should denounce war, which brought
advantage to a small few, he said. In that vein, it
was time to end occupation under the pretext of
"combating drugs", such as in South America, as well
as other pretexts such as searching for weapons of
mass destruction. Money earmarked for war should be
channeled to make reparations for damage caused to the
Earth.
Third, there should be a world without imperialism, he
said, where no country was dependent upon or
subordinate to another. States must look for
complementarity rather than engage in unfair
competition with each other. Member States of the
United Nations should consider the asymmetry that
exists among nations and seek a way to lessen deep
economic differences. Moving along those lines, he
said the Security Council -- with its lifelong members
holding veto rights -- should be democratized.
Fourth, he said access to water should be treated as a
human right, and policies allowing the privatization
of water should be banned. Indigenous peoples had a
long experience of mobilizing themselves to uphold the
right to water. He proposed that they put forth the
idea of forming an international convention on water
to guarantee it as a human right and to protect
against its appropriation by a select few.
Fifth, he said the world should promote clean and
eco-friendly energies, as well as end the wasteful use
of energy. He said it was understood that fossil
fuels were nearing depletion, yet those who promoted
biofuels in their place were making "a serious
mistake". It was not right to set aside land not for
the benefit of human beings, but so that a small few
could operate luxurious vehicles. It was also because
of biofuels that the price of rice and bread has
risen; and the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) were now warning that such
policies must be prevented. The world should explore
more sustainable forms of alternative energy, such as
geothermal, solar, wind and hydro-electric power.
Sixth, he said there should be more respect for Mother
Earth, and the indigenous movement must bring its
influence to bear in fostering that attitude. The
world must stop thinking of Mother Earth in the
capitalist sense -- which was that of a raw material
to be traded. For who could privatize or hire out his
mother?
Seventh, he stressed the importance of gaining access
to basic services for all. Services such as education
and transport should not be the preserve of private
trade.
Eighth, he urged the consumption of only what was
necessary and what was produced locally. There was a
need to end consumerism, waste and luxury. It was an
irony that millions of dollars were being spent to
combat obesity in one half of the globe, while the
other was dying of hunger. He said the impending food
crisis would necessarily bring an end to the free
market, where countries suffering hunger were being
made to export their food. There was a similar case
with oil, where the priority lay in selling it abroad,
rather than domestically.
Ninth, he said it was important to promote unity and
diversity of economies, and that the indigenous
movement should put forth a call for unity and
diversity in the spirit of multilateralism.
Tenth, the world should live under the tenet of
"trying to live well", he said, but not at the expense
of others.
He said the best way forward lay in social movements,
such as the indigenous people's movement, which would
not fall silent until it had brought about change. He
ended by greeting fellow South Americans in the room,
acknowledging their role in the fight. In Bolivia,
the provisions of the Declaration of Rights of
Indigenous Peoples had been made into law, and he
expressed hoped that other countries would do the
same. He welcomed the attention, good or bad, he was
receiving as a member of that movement, saying that
perhaps it would lead to ideological clarity.
Statements
LÉO MERORES ( Haiti), President of the Economic and
Social Council, emphasized the important role of the
Forum in implementing the 2007 Convention, which had
been a major development for protecting and promoting
indigenous peoples' rights. He said the Council was
proud to be the body under which the Forum operated in
that important task and encouraged the Forum to
strengthen its coordinating role in relevant areas, in
cooperation with other United Nations bodies such as
the Forum on Forests and the Commission on Sustainable
Development.
Further, he said that, while the Forum's focus was on
the vulnerable indigenous peoples of the world's
countries and peoples, the outcome of its work
affected other critical matters. For example, by
focusing on climate change, the Forum was advancing
the work of other bodies concerned with the issues
involved. The Forum's work also related to attainment
of the Millennium Development Goals. And among the
Forum's greatest strengths in contributing to other
work was its ability to bring about consensus on
difficult, sensitive questions and issues.
Welcoming the Forum, JOMO KWAMA SUNDARAM, Assistant
Secretary-General for Economic Development, speaking
on behalf of Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-
Economic and Social Affairs (who is scheduled to
address the Forum on 1 May), said high interest and
participation in the seventh session of the Permanent
Forum testified to an increasing awareness of
indigenous issues and evidence that it was fulfilling
its mandate to make the challenges in the field more
visible for policy action.
He also recalled the "historic adoption" of the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, and said he looked forward to hearing the
Forum's recommendations on its follow-up under Article
24 [which provides that indigenous peoples have the
right to their traditional medicines and to maintain
their health practices, including the conservation of
their vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals].
He noted that the Forum's focus on economic and social
development had spurred initiatives in the United
Nations system, States and indigenous peoples'
communities aimed at eliminating discrimination,
exclusion and poverty. The United Nations Development
Group's Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples' Issues was
one such example. Inputs to the current session
itself included cutting-edge reports, including one
containing indicators of indigenous peoples'
well-being, poverty and sustainability. Another was
based on the Forum's expert meeting, held in the
Russian Federation, on perspectives of relationships
between indigenous peoples and industrial
corporations. He said those inputs would further
promote indigenous issues in the United Nations
development agenda.
He pointed to the session's special theme, "Climate
change, biocultural diversity and livelihoods: the
stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new
challenges", and the focus on indigenous languages and
indigenous issues of the Pacific. They would,
likewise, further the discussion of indigenous issues
within the United Nations.
Thanking the Governments of Spain and the Russian
Federation for hosting meetings of the Permanent Forum
in the past year, he urged the international community
to take action for the well-being of indigenous
peoples, with their full and effective participation.
He also thanked those Governments that had contributed
to the Trust Fund on Indigenous Issues, which
supported the Forum and its work.
BERNIE YATES, Deputy Secretary of Australia 's
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services
and Indigenous Affairs, said the new Labour Party that
had come into office last year in his country had
moved quickly to implement key commitments in some
areas relevant to the Forum's deliberations. In
February, an apology had been issued to the Stolen
Generations, the thousands of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander children removed from their families
and communities. It was a historical day that
acknowledged past injustices and, even more
importantly, laid claim to a future that embraced all
Australians.
On the issue of climate change, he said his Government
was determined to play an active role in the solution.
The Kyoto Protocol was ratified on the first day in
office of the new Government. At Bali, Australia was
active in launching a two-year negotiation on Kyoto
post-2012. Domestically, the Government was committed
to a target of a 60 per cent reduction in emissions by
2050. A newly developed strategy would assist the
Aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples to take
advantage of carbon trading through abatement
enterprises. Hundreds of new ranger positions would
be created to work on protecting biodiversity in
indigenous lands and waters. And, in line with the
apology, specific targets had been set to close gaps
between Australia's general population and its
indigenous groups in the areas of health, education,
employment and life expectancy.
GUNILLA OLSSON, Executive Director of the Action Plan
of the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) Change Management, said she spoke on behalf of
IFAD President Lennart Båge, who attached particular
importance to the indigenous peoples. Over 300
million indigenous people worldwide accounted for 5
per cent of the global population and yet represented
15 per cent of its poor. Many lived in rural areas
considered "marginal" for mainstream development.
IFAD's mandate was to enable rural people to overcome
poverty and hunger through investments. The
Declaration adopted last year was a great achievement
in validating the rights, identities, cultures and
heritage of indigenous peoples. But, the true and
lasting value of the document depended on a collective
ability to translate noble words into substantive,
sustainable actions, and there were challenges to be
overcome.
The first challenge was poverty, she said, and its
associated linkages to marginalization, dispossession,
discrimination and lack of respect for economic and
cultural rights. Another challenge was climate
change, since so many indigenous peoples lived in
fragile environments. On a policy level, indigenous
peoples should be empowered to play a more active role
in enhancing the resilience of their ecosystems. A
third challenge was related to biofuels and the
insecurity in land tenure caused by increasing
pressures on global land resources.
To address those challenges, she said indigenous
populations must be engaged as full and equal partners
in development policies and programmes. The principle
of free, prior and informed consent must be respected
in design and implementation of strategies and
programmes affecting indigenous peoples. And finally,
indigenous peoples must continue receiving support
through development projects and protection of their
rights over ancestral land and territories. "Only
then can we avoid what was referred to in a World Bank
workshop last month as the last great land-grab," she
said.
Presentations on Climate Change Theme
Ms. TAULI-CORPUS introduced a report she had
co-authored with Forum co-member Aqqaluk Lynge on the
Impact of Climate Change Mitigation Measures on
Indigenous Peoples and on their Territories and Lands
(document E/C.19/2008/
conclusions had been reached and had been included in
four pages of recommendations. Notably, any climate
change policy by any Government should take into
consideration the rights of indigenous peoples.
Trying to implement measures to assist them without
getting their input was likely to damage their best
interests, rather than help. Also, the Framework
Convention on Climate Change should develop mechanisms
to measure achievement of targets. The Forum should
facilitate participation of indigenous individuals in
regional and global climate change events. And
finally, a report should be compiled on indigenous
science concerning climate change for possible
incorporation into broader measures and policies.
AHMED DJOGHLAF, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat
of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said
humanity had always been destroying the biodiversity,
but that it had been systematically carried out in the
past 50 years. Destruction of biodiversity went hand
in hand with climate change. The destruction of
forests and the resultant climate changes were a
product of the fact that 80 per cent of biodiversity
was located in forestland. Biodiversity was not
restricted to the biological elements themselves and
the time had come to address climate change in its
full context relative to biodiversity. Biodiversity
was not just an "energy" issue, but a holistic
consideration of the Earth's environment. Indigenous
people were a leading force in bringing about that
change. The diversity of the Forum membership proved
that indigenous people could work together.
AQQALUK LYNGE, Rapporteur of the United Nations
Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues, presented the
study on the impact of climate change mitigation
measures on the territories and lands of indigenous
peoples (document E/C.19/2008/
report's significant findings was that indigenous
people wished to contribute to a solution to the
challenge of climate change. Confronting that
challenge, however, was not as straightforward as
first thought; some mitigation plans did not work or
were too slow to be enacted effectively. But,
successful adaptation measures existed, though there
were not many, he acknowledged.
He noted that indigenous peoples' lives were affected
by malaria, exacerbated by increasing temperatures
worldwide; loss of biodiversity; shoreline erosion;
permafrost; loss of habitats for animals and plants;
and new species wreaking havoc on the delicate balance
of nature. They were also affected by flooding and
food insecurity. The impact of climate change was
particularly damaging to indigenous peoples, including
the supposed mitigations to climate change: for
instance, land was taken without prior or informed
consent, including for the purposes of developing
biofuels. Indigenous peoples were left out of the
process for addressing climate change, even though
they were eager to share knowledge.
He said that, in Greenland, where he was from, the
Arctic ice was melting at an unprecedented rate. The
appearance of new species, disappearing species,
thinning ice and unpredictable weather patterns were
among other changes that had been spotted. Meanwhile,
oil companies and shipping industries were simply
waiting for the north polar sea route to open. Old
securities precipitated by the cold war would soon be
replaced by new ones, he said. Some countries had
drawn lines on maps that had not yet been agreed to,
including by those that had not agreed to the United
Nations Law of the Sea. He expressed a fear that
indigenous peoples would be caught in the middle. The
establishment of an Arctic change focal point would be
useful.
GONZAO OVIEDO, Senior Adviser on Social Policy,
International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (IUCN), said it was difficult to
measure the impact of climate change on smaller and
more remote indigenous peoples. More work needed to
be done on assessing damage using vulnerability
factors and recognizing that vulnerability was a
multifaceted phenomenon. It was measurable, in part,
by comparing the degree of welfare prior to climate
change. Addressing needs then took into consideration
such factors as the "social capital" of communities,
both those of the indigenous peoples and that of the
broader population. Thus, to reduce the
vulnerabilities of indigenous peoples, threats to
their well-being must be reduced and their access to
services must be increased, which translated into an
increase in their social capital. Threats included
such factors as uncertainty about their rights and
lack of access to resources informing them of those
rights.
CHARLES MCNEILL, Senior Adviser, Environment and
Energy Group, United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), said UNDP understood that indigenous peoples
had much to contribute to the mitigation of climate
change problems. At the 1992 Earth Summit, it was
indigenous leaders who warned of climate change long
before scientists and politicians reached consensus on
the issue. The recent human development report,
"Fighting climate change: human solidarity in a
divided world", concluded that effective multilateral
mechanisms and good governance structures must be
developed to tackle the issue, which, in turn, must
respect the rights of indigenous peoples. UNDP would
help implement the United Nations Development Group's
Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples' Issues and would
continue supporting participatory and advisory
mechanisms in the context of UNDP's "global human
rights strengthening" programme.
He said that Bureau members of the Permanent Forum had
met UNDP officials on 16 April to discuss how the two
bodies might work together on issues such as climate
change. UNDP would also undertake consultations with
indigenous peoples on deforestation, as well as engage
in community-based adaptation to climate change in 10
countries. It was also organizing a series of
consultations on natural resource management, the
results of which were to be discussed at a Global
Dialogue at United Nations Headquarters on 22 April.
Some time in 2008, UNDP would begin consultations with
indigenous peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean
on indigenous issues.
PHILIP CROSS, representative of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), said his organization'
mandate was to assist developing countries in
implementing applications of information and
communications technology for the benefit of the
environment and sustainable development, as well as to
develop guidelines on the technology and policy
aspects of those applications. The organization was
involved in developing a knowledge base and in
becoming a strategic leader on information and
communications technology and climate change.
Conclusions based on the work of the previous year
indicated that all countries could respond to climate
change by a "process of adaptation" to its impacts and
by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) to
reduce the rate and magnitude of climate change. The
capacity to adapt and mitigate depended on
socio-economic and environmental circumstances and on
the availability of information and communications
technology. Many countries had limited capacities to
make beneficial use of information and communications
technology for environmental action.
He said his organization was making every effort to
ensure the positive role of information and
communications technology in relation to the
environment. It was prepared to work with all
stakeholders and was continually seeking to develop
partnerships. There was need to assign the
environment a more important profile in strategic
planning initiatives at the national level and, in
particular, in e-government initiatives, so that the
use of information and communications technology for
the environment was integrated into planning processes
from the beginning.
SONIA MARTINELLI-HECKADON
Latin American and Caribbean Division, United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA), said the agency's 2008-2011
strategic plan contained a commitment to help reduce
the social and economic gaps between populations,
along the lines of the Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples. The agency would also continue
adopting culturally sensitive approaches in its work.
So far, UNFPA had expanded its work on indigenous
issues in Latin America by providing increased
guidance to its country offices and engaging in
partnership with the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for better data
collection. It would soon undertake to disseminate
the Declaration in the areas where it works, and
embark on training programmes for indigenous peoples,
including for indigenous women leaders.
She said UNFPA had incorporated indigenous world views
in its reproductive health policies and programmes,
and was working to mainstream the concerns of
indigenous women and youth. In 2007, UNFPA developed
and implemented an intercultural reproductive health
programme in Bolivia, Mexico, Panama, Lao People's
Democratic Republic, Viet Nam and other countries. In
Ecuador and Mexico, UNFPA had developed good practices
models on promoting sexual and reproductive health
among the youth, including migratory indigenous youth.
It promoted the use of data to address the needs of
indigenous peoples and was currently supporting
efforts to integrate such information in its censuses.
UNFPA had submitted a report to the Forum on those
topics.
She stressed the importance of policy dialogues
between governmental and non-governmental
organizations, as well as capacity-building and
advocacy that reached both types of actors. Through a
detailed mapping of population and environmental
interactions, UNFPA hoped to be better positioned to
help mitigate the negative effects of climate change
on indigenous peoples.
DJANKOU NDJONKOU, Director of the International Labour
Organization (ILO) Office for the United Nations,
welcomed the adoption of the Declaration and its
complementary ILO conventions, but said that recent
ILO research on including indigenous peoples in
poverty reduction strategies showed hindrances and
challenges in realizing rights. The United Nations
system, Governments, indigenous peoples and
development partners must build momentum to close the
implementation gap by initiating practical and
coordinated long-term processes at the national level.
The recent development of Guidelines for Country
Teams on indigenous issues was an important step
forward. A recent ratification of a relevant ILO
convention by the Government of Nepal, with a
consequent establishment of a task force for
implementation, was another positive development. It
had shown that the recognition of indigenous peoples'
rights could serve as a framework for building an
inclusive society.
NADINE PERRAULT, Human Rights Specialist, United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the agency's
office in the Caribbean had organized a meeting to
discuss the Declaration and to coordinate its
implementation. UNICEF particularly welcomed the
Declaration'
indigenous children, its provision on linguistic
rights, and the provision on the protection of
children from exploitation. Using the Declaration
together with the Convention of the Rights of the
Child would bring strength to UNICEF's overall work of
protecting the rights of children.
She noted that the linguistic right of indigenous
children was linked to the development of children and
women. UNICEF had supported the Declaration'
translation into 16 languages and was using indigenous
languages in its communications materials, in general.
It was currently advocating the use of indigenous
languages in birth registration documents. The use of
indigenous languages was seen as a strategy for
improving social services, and was a key strategy for
empowering indigenous peoples. In line with various
ILO conventions, UNICEF was promoting the involvement
of indigenous peoples in making decisions on
programmes that affected them. It was likely that the
agency's efforts in that matter would soon become a
reference for other United Nations agencies.
On the stewardship role of indigenous peoples, she
said that, although international concern on climate
change had been growing, the close relationship
between indigenous children and the use of natural
resources had so far not been discussed. Sadly,
climate change was likely to affect their way of life,
resulting in a loss of identity and traditional
knowledge. It was vital to begin studying the role of
children as agents of change, but also as a group
being adversely affected by such change. At the Bali
conference on climate change, UNICEF had helped raise
awareness of that issue. There was also a need to
respond to the unfolding food crisis by ensuring that
the needs of children were being met.
PAULA USKI, on behalf of Salvano Briceno, Director,
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR), said that indigenous peoples should
be encouraged to build resilience to disasters by
translating their traditional knowledge and practices
into action. Simeulue Island, off the Sumatran coast,
was an example of the effective contribution of
traditional knowledge to saving lives. Therefore,
only seven people lost their lives in the Indian Ocean
Tsunami, compared to 100,000 on the mainland, thanks
to the transmission of local knowledge from one
generation to another. Surin Island in Thailand had a
similar experience, where elders called for a hilltop
evacuation when they saw water rapidly receding at the
time of the tsunami. Such examples point to the huge
potential for disaster risk reduction among indigenous
peoples.
She said indigenous peoples' harmonious relations with
nature and their environment and their sophisticated
ecological knowledge of weather patterns, among other
things, placed them in a leading position to guide
world communities towards climate change adaptation
practices. It was crucial to combine and balance
indigenous knowledge with modern scientific
information for mutual benefit. The ISDR Secretariat,
in partnership with Kyoto University and UNESCO, was
promoting disaster risk reduction and policymaking
practices. A workshop on that topic was being planned
in fall 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand, to which Forum
members were invited.
HELEN ANDREASSON, Alternate Focal Point on Indigenous
Issues, Housing Policy Section of the United
Nations-HABITAT, said a number of her organization'
activities contributed to the five main objectives of
the Second International Decade. They included
empowerment, development, rural-urban linkages,
promoting civic engagement, social integration,
participatory planning and management and gender
mainstreaming. A global monitoring mechanism was
being implemented with the Office of the High
Commission for Human Rights to ensure adequate housing
based on a set of housing rights indicators.
Indigenous peoples' issues would feature prominently
in the November World Urban Forum to be held in China.
JUANITA CASTAŇO, Director of the United Nations
Environmental Programme (UNEP) Office in New York,
said the participation of civil society organizations
and indigenous peoples' organizations for an adequate
address of environmental concerns was vital,
particularly in the intergovernmental decision-making
process when her organization developed its
operational policies and work programme.
Accreditation with the UNEP Governing Council/Global
Ministerial Environment Forum would be granted to any
organization having a consultative status with UNEP.
"Please do contact UNEP" for information on the
accreditation process, she urged. "To get indigenous
peoples' voices heard, they have to be present and
participate.
indigenous peoples had been developed and was being
circulated in a continuing consultative process during
the current Forum session. There would be a public
consultation this coming Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the
Church Centre.
TRISHA RIEDY, Manager, Programme in Peacemaking and
Preventive Diplomacy, United Nations Institute for
Training and Research (UNITAR), said the Institute had
long been training senior officials and United Nations
staff in the field of negotiation, and had begun
providing the same training to indigenous peoples
since 2000. The decision to provide that service had
been made on the request of indigenous peoples
themselves and on the recommendations of United
Nations special rapporteurs. More than 330 indigenous
peoples from around the world had been trained, with
the objective of strengthening their capacity to
analyze conflict, to identify the needs and concerns
of parties to conflict, and to engage in dialogue with
partners to formulate solutions.
She recalled a statement by former Secretary-General
Kofi Annan that, if the twenty-first century was the
age of prevention, indigenous peoples must be involved
in making decisions that affected them. Their
exclusion would only lead to alienation and poverty,
which in themselves were the roots of conflict.
Enhancing their capacity for meaningful participation
in the political process was one way to prevent
violent conflict. A number of UNITAR graduates had
played key roles in their Governments in calling for
the adoption of the Declaration. UNITAR training was,
therefore, contributing to the United Nations' efforts
to increase the involvement of indigenous peoples at
all levels. Indeed, pressing environmental concerns
necessitated their engagement.
DOUGLAS NAKASHIMA, Chief of the Sciences for Society
Section in the Local and Indigenous Knowledge System
Programme Division of Science Policies and Sustainable
Development in the Natural Sciences Sector of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), described the numerous projects
his organization was carrying out related to
indigenous peoples and climate change. He said a
global Internet-based "Frontline Forum" on climate
change and vulnerable communities was being launched,
with a particular focus on the needs and concerns of
indigenous peoples living in small islands, the
Arctic, mountain zones, dry-lands, the tropics and
other vulnerable environments susceptible to early
impacts of climate change. It would offer a platform
for indigenous and other vulnerable communities who
had protested in Bali that they were excluded from
climate change debates. The Forum would operate in
three languages and would also address critical
climate change issues, such as positive and negative
effects of mitigation measures and the impacts of
climate change on knowledge relevant to the
conservation of biological and cultural diversity.
SAM JOHNSON, Senior Research Fellow, United Nations
University (UNU), said the university's Traditional
Knowledge Centre aimed to support and promote
indigenous leadership at the international level,
change minds about the importance of traditional
knowledge, and provide a focal point for promoting
research and training on such knowledge. A key pilot
activity of UNU was the International Expert Group
Meeting on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change, in
Australia. The Meeting addressed the effects of
climate change on indigenous peoples, mitigations and
adaptation measures, carbon markets and factors
effecting indigenous participation in the climate
change processes. At meetings such as those, the
Declaration was used as the overarching framework for
climate change policies that affected indigenous
peoples.
He said UNU had also played an important role in the
follow-up to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in
the lead-up to the United Nations Framework for
Climate Change Convention meeting in 2009, and in
ensuring that indigenous assessments were included in
that process. Also, because UNU had decided to
explore the feasibility of establishing an Institute
of the university at the Charles Darwin University, he
sought the support of Forum members to persuade the
Australian Government to support that initiative.
REGINA LAUB, representative of the Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO), said her organization
had supported indigenous peoples over the past year in
the areas of conservation and sustainable management
of agricultural biodiversity and ecosystems. A
globally important Agricultural Heritage Systems
Programme had been established and pilot systems in
various countries would implement improved
conservation management approaches over the next seven
years. Cultural indicators had been developed and
land issues tackled in a number of regions. Regional
platforms for indigenous peoples had been established
in Latin America and Canada, while a high-level
meeting on World Food Security had been held. The
conclusion of those activities was that more needed to
be done to protect biological and cultural diversity
for the benefit of alleviating climate change and for
the benefit of indigenous livelihoods. Collaboration
with indigenous peoples could be a great importance in
the effort. Personal commitment should be transformed
into a universal one.
NAVIN RAI, representative of the World Bank, said the
Bank's World Development Report 2010 would examine the
consequences of climate change on developing
countries. He expressed hope that its participation
at the seventh session of the Permanent Forum would
help the Bank to better formulate strategies and
policies relating to climate change, and better design
adaptation and mitigation programmes.
He elaborated five points relating to the topic that
was already known to the World Bank: that indigenous
peoples had the smallest carbon footprint, and that
they had played a fundamental role throughout history
in protecting the environment. Indeed, indigenous
peoples managed 11 per cent of the world's forest
lands and maintained, within their lands, 80 per cent
of the planet's biodiversity. Indigenous communities
had a system of rules and practices to manage natural
resources in a sustainable manner, and possessed the
knowledge to cope with local-level climate change.
They also had cultural and political processes for
dealing with the environment when processes became
unsustainable.
He noted that coping with a warmer climate could
impose a heavy burden on the poor, of which the
indigenous peoples were the poorest. In addition,
proposed programmes to mitigate climate change might
inadvertently affect indigenous peoples' livelihoods
and undermine their access to resources. Therefore,
their active role in finding ways to mitigate climate
change was important. The World Bank was working to
bring together indigenous experts with climate change
scientists to exchange knowledge and to formulate
mutually beneficial solutions. He called on Member
States to implement the provisions of the Declaration
and to provide the necessary financial assistance to
achieve the goals contained within it.
LUCA DALL'OGLIO, Observer of the International
Organization for Migration (IMO), said three areas of
his organization'
issues during the past year. One was related to
environmentally-
for indigenous people. Another was the Inter-Agency
Support Group work in migration and still another was
the growing better understanding of indigenous
peoples' migration. The theme of climate change and
indigenous stewardship had particular meaning in a
migration context. The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change had noted, as early as 1990, that
millions would be displaced by phenomena such as
shoreline erosion and coastal flooding.
Indigenous peoples in remote areas faced more
vulnerability and the necessary "environmental
migration" due to climate change had brought world
attention to the matter. For example, in response to
massive flooding last year in Mexico, IMO had placed
priority on the indigenous communities who had lost
their homes. Cooperation with local municipalities
had enabled recovery of lost property and the
rebuilding of homes with a response team that was 80
per cent made up of the indigenous helping their own
community members to ensure good communications in
their vernacular and an effective needs-based
response. He brought participants' attention to the
recent IOM report Indigenous Routes: A Framework for
Understanding Indigenous Migration, which was
available in the Conference room and the IOM website.
It looked at diverse examples and explored
opportunities of indigenous migration and hoped it
would act as a catalyst for future research.
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iS iT WiN-abled ?
iF NoT, how soon will iT be WiN-abled ?
:)