NEW YORK, 13 SEPTEMBER 2007

Statements from Indigenous Peoples' Caucus Regional Steering Committee, Global Regions' Indigenous Peoples, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and others concerning the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

A l’occasion de l’adoption de la déclaration des Nations Unies sur les Droits des Peuples Autochtones par l’Assemblée Générale

The Indigenous peoples of the Arctic today celebrate the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples!

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL STATEMENT

UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES FINALLY
ADOPTED AFTER 25 YEARS!

Indigenous Representatives from the North American Region share the following statement with the world community: We bring you respectful greetings from our Leaders, Elders, men, women and children of all the Indigenous Peoples of North America.

ASIA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CAUCUS ON THE OCCASION OF THE ADOPTION OF THE UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

The Asian Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus celebrates the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This as a historic milestone in the struggle of Indigenous Peoples for their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific region were appraised of the text of the modified United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in early September 2007. They communicated their overwhelming support for its passage from 11 different countries spanning the vast reaches of Oceania, which is the largest geographical region of the world and the home of many diverse cultures who are Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian.

“This recognition was a long time coming,” said National Chief Phil Fontaine. “The declaration recognizes our collective histories, traditions, cultures, languages, and spirituality. It is a call for First Nations in Canada and Indigenous peoples around the world to act on their rights, to implement them wherever and however they are able, to give them meaning in their lives, and in the lives of their children and their communities.”

Today, the United Nations General Assembly, the highest body of the United Nations system, in an historic session adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, after more than 20 years of intensive negotiations between nation-states and Indigenous Peoples.

Adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Joint Statement by International Non-Governmental Organizations.

The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations
marks a momentous and historic occasion for both Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations.

One quarter of a century ago the United Nations agreed that the situation of indigenous peoples
around the world was so desperate and consistently exploited, that it warranted international
attention.