Archive for August 9th, 2014

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09/08/2014

Is an 'International Day' All What 370 Million Indigenous People Can Get?

They are around 370 people in 90 countries around the world who constitute 15 per cent of the world’s poor and about one third of the world’s 900 million extremely poor rural people. They are the remains of millions of peoples who suffered historical extermination and still face continuos injustices… But they have an International Day!
Participants at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May 2014. Photo by Broddi Sigurdarson, United Nations

Participants at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May 2014. Photo by Broddi Sigurdarson, United Nations

Marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August 2014, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said indigenous peoples have a central interest in development and can act as “powerful agents of progress.”*

“In order for them to contribute to our common future, we must secure their rights,” said Ban in his message on the Day, in which he added: “Let us recognize and celebrate the valuable and distinctive identities of indigenous peoples around the world. Let us work even harder to empower them and support their aspirations.”

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is commemorated annually on 9 August in recognition of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations, held in Geneva in 1982.

“Historical injustices have all too often resulted in exclusion and poverty,” Ban said, adding that power structures continue to create obstacles to indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination.

Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | 3 Comments »

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