A few years ago the United Nations proclaimed August 9th as the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Today, around the world, it is being celebrated.
Indigenous peoples around the world are struggling to protect the planet that we all call home. They are, quite literally, the front lines in the struggle to protect Earth.
Here is Kofi Annan's statement today:
The annual observance of this International Day recognizes the
achievements of the world's indigenous people, who number more than 370
million and who live in some 70 countries. But it is also a moment to
acknowledge the critical challenges they face. Much remains to be done
to alleviate the poverty faced by many indigenous people; to protect
them against massive violations of human rights; and to safeguard
against the discrimination that, for example, forces many indigenous
girls to drop out of school.
In the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, indigenous peoples now
have an official home at the United Nations. And as the proceedings of
the Forum have stressed, the perspectives, concerns, experiences and
world views of indigenous peoples have a crucial role to play in
addressing global challenges and our efforts to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals. Indeed, only by respecting cultural diversity and
indigenous peoples' right to self-determination can our work together
truly be called a partnership.
This year's observance is also a Day on which to welcome the recent
adoption, by the first session of the new Human Rights Council, of the
draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The product of many years of complex and at times contentious
negotiations, the Declaration is an instrument of historic significance
for the advancement of the rights and dignity of the world's indigenous
peoples. Its expected adoption by the United Nations General Assembly
before the end of the year will be a major achievement, with potential
to further mobilize indigenous people and their partners.
On this International Day, in the Second International Decade of the
World's Indigenous People, I call upon all actors -- States, indigenous
peoples, United Nations bodies, international development agencies,
non-governmental organizations and the private sector -- to give renewed
attention and true meaning to the Decade's theme, and build a
"partnership for action and dignity".
Take a moment today to think about our brothers and sisters in the Amazon, the Congo, the Arctic, the plains of East Africa, the Andes, the Pacific Isles... who, against all odds - big oil, militaries, paramilitaries, mining, logging, missionaries, big agriculture - have somehow managed to survive while at the same time protecting what's left of the Earth's biodiversity and natural resources.
They are tough as diamonds. May they prevail.