"ACTION NEEDED NOW TO END ABUSE OF WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES"

International Indian Treaty Council

CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE TRATADOS INDIOS

	“WORKING FOR THE RIGHTS AND RECOGNITION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES"

ACTION NEEDED NOW TO END ABUSE OF WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES -
UN, New York, August 9, 2004 10:00AM

The United Nations today marked the International Day of the World's
Indigenous People with calls to governments, intergovernmental
organizations and the international community at-large for urgent action to
end the
gross human rights abuses, discrimination and marginalization that all too
often are still their lot in society.

"For far too long, indigenous peoples' lands have been taken away, their
cultures denigrated or directly attacked, their languages and customs
suppressed, their wisdom and traditional knowledge overlooked or
exploited, and their sustainable ways of developing natural resources
dismissed,"
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.

"Some have even faced the threat of extinction," he added in a message
observing the 10th anniversary of the Day, which was also marks the closing
year of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People proclaimed
by the UN General Assembly to raise awareness about the situation of
indigenous people.

"Governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society must work to
empower indigenous peoples and ensure their participation in decisions that
affect their lives," he declared.

The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation of indigenous peoples
of the UN Commission on Human Rights, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, voiced deep
concern over continuing reports of gross violations against indigenous
peoples worldwide.

"Despite the progress made over the past 10 years, at the national and
international levels, indigenous peoples the world over continue to be among
the most marginalized and dispossessed sectors of society, the victims of
perennial prejudice and discrimination," he declared.

Mr. Stavenhagen noted the "brutal killing" just last week of an indigenous
human rights activist in Colombia, Fredy Arias, allegedly by a member of a
paramilitary group, and called on the Colombian Government to investigate
this and other such violations and bring those responsible to justice
without delay.

"Indigenous peoples are also the victims of other types of violations," he
added. "In too many places they lack access to basic services and continue
to suffer multiple forms of discrimination elsewhere. I call on Governments
to make real progress on their commitment to improve the living and human
rights conditions of indigenous peoples. Rhetoric must become a thing of the
past; action is what is needed now."
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