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Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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29 July 2003
Press Release No: L/21/2003
THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE
ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE,
9 August 2003
Today we celebrate the existence, diversity and
achievements of the world's indigenous peoples. We honour their
struggles to preserve their cultures, protect their lands and
combat discrimination. We pay tribute to those who, without
relinquishing their identity, move comfortably between the traditions
of their ancestors and the wider, rapidly-changing modern world.
And we remind ourselves that indigenous peoples still face threats
to their lives and destruction of their belief systems, cultures,
languages and ways of life.
It was on this day in 1982 that the Working Group
on Indigenous Populations first met. Much that has happened
since then has raised the profile of indigenous issues on the
international agenda. The International Year of the World's
Indigenous People was observed in 1993, and the International
Decade started in 1995. The Commission on Human Rights has been
working on a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples,
and has appointed a Special Rapporteur to examine indigenous
issues. Most recently, the establishment of the Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues has given indigenous peoples a home at
the United Nations. As a mechanism for partnership between indigenous
peoples, the Member States and the United Nations system, the
Permanent Forum gives hope that the motto of the Decade - "partnership
in action" - is being turned into reality in the areas
of economic and social development, environment, health, education,
culture and human rights.
The human family is a tapestry of enormous beauty
and diversity. The indigenous peoples of the world are a rich
and integral part of that tapestry. They have much to be proud
of and much to teach the other members of the human family.
The protection and promotion of their rights and cultures is
of fundamental importance to all States and all peoples.
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