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09/15/2007: "UN declaration a ‘standard’ for political solution: NSCN (I-M) Newmai News Network"


UN declaration a ‘standard’ for political solution: NSCN (I-M) Newmai News Network

Dimapur The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13 has immensely boosted the morale of the NSCN-IM. In a statement issued to NNN tonight, the NSCN-IM said that Article 3 of the UN Declaration has added a new dimension to the Indo-Naga issue. The Article 3 of the UN Declaration says “Indigenous peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”
With this declaration, the NSCN-IM said tonight that the Nagas’ demand for integrating all contiguous Nagas areas into one administrative unit can no longer be treated lackadaisically. As mentioned by Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issue on the occasion of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous peoples “the declaration has set the minimum international standards for the protection and promotion of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Therefore, existing and future laws, policies and programs on indigenous peoples will have to be redesigned and shaped to be consistent with the standard.”
The NSCN-IM asserted that notwithstanding the awareness level of the Nagas on the indigenous peoples’ legitimate right, the real issue now is interpreting this declaration into concrete meaning and to be pushed forward with greater vigor and legalistic strength.
“NSCN would like to join Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, in expressing our gratitude to all individual and NGOs like IWGIA, NCIV, DOCIP, Quakers, Amnesty International, IFG, Rights and Democracy and many others who helped in materializing this declaration,” stated the Naga outfit, adding that in the days to come Nagas shall be counting on the United Nations system to help implement the Declaration, and lack of political will on the part of the government of India should now be given a re-thinking.
Expressing its enthusiasm on the historic declaration made by the world body, the NSCN-IM stated that coinciding, the 61st ‘Nagalim Independence Day Celebration’ with the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly, the Nagas have been richly blessed and the Nagas’ case for the last 61 years has been vindicated. “Because, the Nagas have been struggling for right to self determination to decide Nagas’ political status on the ground of claiming themselves to be indigenous people, but having political history of subjugation and suppression”, concluded the NSCN-IM in a statement issued by its Ministry of Information and Publicity.
The ‘Reservation policy has divided the Nagas’ Pochury, Zeliangrong, Chakhesang demand their due Morung Express News
Dimapur Clearly unhappy that the state government acceded to the demand of six so-asserted “eastern” tribes for 25% job reservation but ignored others the Pochury, Zelaingrong and Chakhesang students have threatened to take an own course of action if the three are not given their due. The policy has clearly placed the Nagas in two categories, it is asserted.
A joint letter to the Chief Minister from the Pochury Students’ Union, Zeliangrong Students’ Union Nagaland and Chakhesang Students’ Union took strong exception that the government should ignore the other backward tribes. They have demanded equal and fair reservation to achieve the “ideals of BT reservation policy.” The existing reservation policy have placed the Naga tribes in two simple categories ‘advanced’ and ‘backward’ and further, there is also no provision in the policy to further divide the tribes under the same category until such time the policy is overhauled, the aggrieved communities lamented. The students expressed their resentment that the demand for total review of the 33% reservation in respect of the nine backward tribes was ignored even while acceding to the demands of the “eastern” communities.
The PSU, CSU and ZSUN reminded the state government that it is not at all fair to categorize the entire citizens of a linguistic division or tribe as ‘backward’ or ‘advanced’ without considering the grass-root situation and empirical realities. The students highlighted their perspective that the 33% policy for nine BTs in Nagaland remains without major periodical review for the last three decades. It has been without review to update in consonance with changing realities to fully realize the policy’s target and help the tribes that are educationally and economically backward. They should be significantly represented in the state services so they too can come at par with the “advanced tribes,” the letter stated. “The target of the policy is to remove backwardness in phase-wise manner whereby the 33% job reservation is reduced and elevated to the advanced category with periodical review; the latest decision of the cabinet to rise the backward quota is just the reverse; the attempt is seemingly targeted towards achieving 100% backwardness in the near future” the students stated.
The students also reminded that the reservation needs thorough review to address anomalies and discrepancies with the change of time. The state commission should be directed to investigate conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and examine the grass-root situation of different areas in the state so as to deliver fairness and justice to citizens” it stated. The decision of the state government cannot override the Fundamental Rights of its citizens. All relevant factors should be taken into consideration in order to ‘decide the backwardness’ of a particular class and ‘not on the ground of political mileage’ it added.
‘No tribe is free from sinCNBC appeals to TNL to revoke excommunication of Dr Shishak Morung Express
KOHIMA, SEPTEMBER 15 (MExN): Council of Naga Baptist Churches while expressing ‘pain and deep hurt’ over the resolution of Tangkhul Naga Long to excommunicate Rev Dr Tuisem Shishak for his recent confessional statement, has appealed TNL to revoke the resolution before it attracted any negative implication.
CNBC general Secretary Rev Dr VK Nuh in a letter to TNL president, Stephen Angkang, said that no tribe is free from sin of pride, prejudice, arrogance and the likes, and the sinful nature of Nagas, their waywardness, division, dissension and disunity which has continue to create serious social constraints leading to bloodshed and killing has become a great hindrance in political peace process.
‘Shed tears not blood’ is the crying voice of every heart. There must be tribal and national repentance, reconciliation and peace if we are to find a common destiny with dignity. Even tribe must repent and confess”, the letter read.
Of all the tribes, the Tangkhul tribe could set a very outstanding glaring example if the path of repentance and confession could be pursued with eminent leader like Dr T Shishak, but unfortunately a moral and spiritual reality is to suffer in the face of a socio-political environment, reverend said.
“A prophet has no honour in his home’ but we re-affirmed that honest expressions of Dr Shishak deserve serious consideration by all Naga people”, Nuh also said, adding that the need of the hour is not reaction but interaction, not rejoinder but repentance, not recrimination but reconciliation, not confection but confession, which brings peace and understanding.
“In line with the scriptures, we need to reason together to find ways of solving our common problems and constraints in the nation building process”, the letter also said , while urging the TNL to review and revoke with retrospection before their resolution attract any negative implication, in the interest of Naga national movement.
Mukherjee seeks to push ‘Look East’ policy The Morung Express
Bangkok, September 15 (Aghencies): With an aim of pushing India’s `Look East` policy, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today asked the heads of missions in the region to work for promoting further the strategic engagement with South East Asian countries, particularly in security, trade and economic fields.
On a three-day visit here, Mukherjee chaired a day-long conference of heads of missions of South East ASIAN and pacific countries, outlining the priorities and challenges before the diplomacy in its endeavour to promote India`s interests.
He underlined the need for intensification of partnership with Asean and other regional groupings and promotion of Indian economic environment to encourage export of its goods and services.
Promotion of inter-regional integration and utilisation of regional trade arrangements for investment was also stressed by the minister as he noted India`s increasing Noting that the international order has seen a "profound structural transformation", Mukherjee said in view of that India`s foreign policy has had to "reformulate its priorities.
A significant aspect of this cooperation with East Asian countries, both bilaterally and through multi-lateral institutions like Asean regional forum, has been the growing collaboration on security issues fostered through practical measures, he said. This cooperation focuses on areas like maritime security and counter-terrorism which are of vital interest to security of states as well as commerce through sea lanes in the region, Mukherjee said.
Referring to India-Asean trade relations, he expressed hope that a breakthrough on free trade agreement would emerge in the coming months. Stating that FTA lies at the heart of the engagement with ASEAN, he acknowledged that the negotiating process on it has proved to be difficult. The challenge has been to harmonise positions of two partners who are both willing but have different characteristics, the external affairs minister said.
There have been some positive developments in the recent meetings of senior officials and there are now proposals on the table that provide the possibility of concluding the negotiations at an early date. "The time has come for us to be pragmatic and find an outcome that is a win-win for both sides," Mukherjee said.
Indigenous Peoples Score Historic Political Victory The Morung Express column

Haider Rizvi
After 22 years of long and cumbersome negotiations, leaders of the world’s 270 million indigenous people have won a powerful symbolic victory in their fight for recognition of the right to self-determination and control over their land and resources. On Thursday, an overwhelming majority of the 192-member U.N. General Assembly said “yes” to a resolution calling for the adoption of the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“It’s a triumph for indigenous peoples around the world,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after the General Assembly vote. “This marks a historic moment when member states and indigenous peoples reconciled with their painful histories.” In her comments, General Assembly President Haya Al Khalifa described the outcome of the vote as a “major step forward” towards the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms “for all”.
While pleased with the General Assembly’s decision, indigenous leaders told IPS they had hoped the declaration would be adopted by consensus, but since certain countries remained unwilling to recognise their rights until the end, a majority vote was the only possible option left. “If a few states did not accept the declaration, then it would be a reflection on them rather than the document,” said Les Malezer, an aboriginal leader from Australia, before the resolution was presented to the General Assembly.
As expected, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand refused to accept the declaration endorsed by as many as 143 countries. The nations that neither supported nor objected to the declaration were Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Columbia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Samoa and Ukraine.
Before the vote, many indigenous leaders accused the United States and Canada of pressuring economically weak and vulnerable nations to reject the calls for the Declaration’s adoption. Initially, some African countries were also reluctant to vote in favour, but later changed their position after the indigenous leadership accepted their demand to introduce certain amendments in the text.
The Declaration emphasises the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their institutions, cultures and traditions and pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations.
It also calls for recognition of indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, a principle fully recognised by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, but deemed controversial by the United States and some of its allies who fear that it could undermine the sovereignty of states.
In return for their support, the African countries wanted the declaration to mention that it does not encourage any actions which would undermine the “territorial integrity” or “political unity” of sovereign states.
Despite the fact that the African viewpoint has been incorporated into the amended version, the draft declaration remains assertive of the indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination and control over their land and resources.
“It is subject to interpretation, but we can work with this,” Les Malezer, chair of the Global Indigenous Caucus, told IPS last week. Like many other indigenous leaders, Malezer, a longtime aboriginal rights activist, initially did not approve of amendments in the draft.
“We would not have gone for the amendments,” he said. “But presented with the amended declaration, presented with the agreement made between approximately 130 states, then we have a very good result.”
Thursday, Malezer and his colleagues in the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues described the world body’s decision as “a major victory”. “The 13th of September 2007 will be remembered as an international human rights day for the indigenous peoples of the world,” said Vicky Tauli-Corpus, chairperson of the Permanent Forum, in an emotional tone filled with joy.
“This is magnificent endeavour which brought you to sit together with us to listen to our cries and struggles and to hammer out words which will respond to these is unprecedented,” she told U.N. diplomats after the vote.
But in the same breath, Tauli-Corpus also raised the question of “effective implementation of the Declaration,” saying it will “the test of commitment of states and the whole international community” to protect, respect and fulfill indigenous peoples collective and individual human rights. “I call on governments, the U.N. system, indigenous peoples and civil society at large to rise to the historic task before us and make the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples a living document for the common future of humanity,” she said in a statement.
International civil society groups working for the rights of indigenous peoples also expressed their joy. ‘We are really very happy and thrilled to hear about the adoption of the declaration,” said Botswana Bushman Jumanda Gakelebone of First People of the Kalahari, who works with an independent advocacy group called Survival International.
“It recognises that governments can no longer treat us as second-class citizens, and it gives protection to tribal peoples so that they will not be thrown off their lands like we were,” Cakelebone added in a statement. Survival’s director Stephen Corry said he hoped the declaration would raise international standards in the same way as the universal declaration on human rights did nearly 60 years ago.
“It sets a benchmark by which the treatment of tribal and indigenous peoples can be judged, and we hope it will usher in an era in which abuse of their rights is no longer tolerated,” he added. Though pleased with the General Assembly’s decision, some indigenous leaders seemed unhappy about the fact that the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand did not accept the Declaration.
“Canada has shown its true colours on our human rights,” Arthur Manuel, a leader of Canada’s indigenous peoples, told IPS. “It is caught up in the contradictions of not following the recommendations of the all the U.N. human rights bodies that have told it to base its indigenous policy on ‘recognition and coexistence’.”
Those in opposition see the Declaration as “flawed”, mainly because of its strong emphasis on the right to self-determination and full control over lands and resources. In their view, they would hinder efforts for economic development and undermine the so-called established democratic norms. Meanwhile, threats to indigenous lands and resources continue to go on in the form of mining, logging, toxic contamination, privatisation, and large-scale development projects, as well as the use of genetically modified seeds.
“The entire wealth of the United States, Canada, and other so-called modern states is built on the poverty and human rights violations of their indigenous peoples,” Manuel said. “The international community needs to understand how hypocritical Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States are.”
Recent scientific studies have repeatedly warned of devastating consequences for indigenous communities as changing climates are likely to cause more floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and melting of glaciers all across the world.
A ‘Peoples’ at long last Editorial Morung
After all these years of political subjugation, economic exploitation and cultural assimilation, indigenous nations around the world have something to celebrate about. They are now legally recognized as a peoples. It took members of the United Nations more than 20 years, after intensive negotiations and political confrontation with indigenous nations before finally arriving at a position where it has now voted in favor of adopting the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights. This declaration was upheld in the midst of stiff opposition from countries, traditionally long perceived as leading advocates of human rights, who voted against the declaration.
The struggle for indigenous rights has indeed exposed the contradictions of liberal democracy; and it simply demonstrates that governments such as the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia simply do not care enough to recognize indigenous nations as people with equal rights. This has occurred inspite of the historical reality that all these countries are traditionally inhabited by indigenous nations, who now form part of an undignified minority. In light of the historical and political questions that indigenous nations pose to government and countries it is not surprising that 11 countries including Russia and Colombia chose to abstain. The arrogance of power has always opposed inclusive rights.
The fear of the indigenous movement in the hearts of such powerful countries clearly manifest the unanswered questions around state legitimacy and the unwillingness of the powers that be to recognize that indigenous nations have the right to self-determination, even to the extent of bypassing the rationale of state territorial integrity in cases when indigenous concerns and rights are not represented by the state. It is this fear of the perceived ‘other’ that governments have forcefully prevented indigenous nations from defining the course of their own future and freely contributing to the development of human kind on the values of a shared humanity. The instance that Australia had for a long time until the mid 1990s defined the aborigines as ‘flora and fauna’ is an example of how governments relate to indigenous nations.
The adoption of the declaration however does not naturally imply that their status and plight of the indigenous peoples will suddenly become improve overnight, or that their rights will implemented by member states of the United Nations. The United Nations General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa stated that “the importance of this document for indigenous peoples and, more broadly, for the human rights agenda, cannot be underestimated. By adopting the declaration, we are also taking another major step forward towards the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.” But she warned that “even with this progress, indigenous peoples still face marginalization, extreme poverty and other human rights violations.”
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the Philippine chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues puts the declaration into perspective when she says that the declaration is a legal document which “sets the minimum international standards for the protection and promotion of the rights” of indigenous peoples. Indeed indigenous nations are can no longer just be excluded as a ‘population’ but must be recognized as a ‘peoples’ with equal rights which must enable them to reconcile and heal with their burdens of history and empower them to resolve their political acrimony with governments; so that they may contribute in moving forward, together with the rest of the world on the path of human rights, development and freedom for all.
While the 370 million indigenous people around the world have something to celebrate about, a political victory in light of centuries of politicide has opened a small window of opportunity for them to actively ensure that the declaration of indigenous people rights are implemented in ways that indigenous nations can freely determine the course of their own future in ways that are consistent with shared democratic values of dignity and equality.
Indigenous Peoples reaffirm
common destiny of humanity
STATEMENT OF VICTORIA TAULI-CORPUZ, CHAIR OF THE UN PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES ON THE OCCASION OF THE ADOPTION OF THE UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES.

61st Session of the UN General Assembly
Madame President of the General Assembly, H.E. Ambassador Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, Excellencies, Indigenous Chiefs, Elders, Sisters and Brothers, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I open my statement by acknowledging the First Peoples of this territory of which some of the Chiefs are here with us today. Gawis ay agew ken datako am-in. Palalo ng gasing ko ay mang-ila ken dakayo.
I am Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, a Kankana-ey Igorot from the Cordillera Region in the Philippines. I speak as the Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Three of my co-members Aqaluuk Lynge, Willy Littlechild and Merike Kokajev are also here with us. I also speak as an indigenous person who has been actively engaged in the work around this Declaration.
It is a great honor and privilege to address you all in this historic day. Through the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations marks a historical milestone in its long history of developing and establishing international human rights standards.
It marks a major victory for Indigenous Peoples who actively took part in crafting this Declaration. This day will be forever be etched in our history and memories as a significant gain in our long struggle for our rights as distinct peoples and cultures.
The 13th of September 2007 will be remembered as a day when the United Nations and its Member States, together with Indigenous Peoples, reconciled with past painful histories and decided to march into the future on the path of human rights. I thank very warmly all the States who voted for the adoption of the Declaration today. All of you will be remembered by us.
Madame President, Let me express my warmest gratitude to you for your leadership and for keeping your word that you will do all you can to make sure this Declaration will be adopted before the end of your Presidency. Among many of your achievements, the adoption of the Declaration is the one which we, indigenous peoples and we as members of the Forum, will remember as your most important legacy.
I hail representatives of Indigenous Peoples who patiently exerted extraordinary efforts for more than two decades to draft and negotiate the Declaration. Indigenous Peoples attempts to get the ears of the international community started much earlier with the trip of Cayuga Chief Deskaheh to the League of Nations in 1923 and of Maori leader W. T. Ratana in 1925. We can now say that this historical trip, even if he was turned away, has not been in vain.
This Declaration has the distinction of being the only Declaration in the UN which was drafted with the rights-holders, themselves, the Indigenous Peoples. We see this is as a strong Declaration which embodies the most important rights we and our ancestors have long fought for; our right of self-determination, our right to own and control our lands, territories and resources, our right to free, prior and informed consent, among others. Each and every article of this Declaration is a response to the cries and complaints brought by indigenous peoples before the UN- Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP). This is a Declaration which makes the opening phrase of the UN Charter, “We the Peoples…” meaningful for the more than 370 million indigenous persons all over the world.

Madame President,
While we respect the interpretative statements presented by States, today, we believe that the significance and legal implications of this Declaration should not be minimized in any way because this will amount to discrimination against indigenous peoples For us, the correct way to interpret the Declaration is to read it in its entirety or in a wholistic manner and to relate it with existing international law. Article 46 paragraph 1, for instance cannot be interpreted in a way which discriminates indigenous peoples. The first preambular paragraph, a new addition, which says “Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations…” immediately establishes that indigenous peoples’ rights in the Declaration are within the context of international law.
Preambular Paragraph 16 confirms that the right of self-determination of “all peoples” is the right referred to in the Charter of the UN, the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The right of self-determination of Indigenous Peoples contained in Article 3 of the Declaration is the same right contained in international law. The reference to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action also affirms that the principle of territorial integrity found in Article 46 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples only applies to the right of self-determination and not other rights.
Furthermore, the Vienna Declaration and the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations say that for States to invoke territorial integrity, they must be “conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples”.
I salute the independent experts, especially Madame Erica-Irene Daes who, as the Chair of the UN-Working Group, worked closely with indigenous representatives to craft the original version of this Declaration. I hail the representatives of States and NGO who actively contributed to reach where we are today. This magnificent endeavor which brought you to sit together with us, Indigenous Peoples, to listen to our cries and struggles and to hammer out words which will respond to these is unprecedented.
The long time devoted to the drafting of the Declaration by the United Nations stemmed from the conviction that Indigenous Peoples have rights as distinct peoples and that a constructive dialogue among all would eventually lead to a better understanding of diverse worldviews and cultures, a realignment of positions and, finally, to the building of partnerships between states and Indigenous Peoples for a more just and sustainable world.

The Declaration and the Permanent Forum
For the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Declaration will become the major foundation and framework in implementing its mandate to advise members of the Economic and Social Council and the UN agencies, programmes and funds on indigenous peoples human rights and development. It is a key instrument and tool for raising awareness on and monitoring progress of indigenous peoples’ situations and the protection, respect and fulfillment of indigenous peoples’ rights. It will further enflesh and facilitate the operationalization of the human rights-based approach to development as it applies to Indigenous Peoples. It will be the guide for States, the UN System, Indigenous Peoples and civil society in making the theme of the Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples “Partnership for Action and Dignity” a reality.
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is explicitly asked in Article 42 of the Declaration to promote respect for and full application of the provisions of the Declaration and follow-up the effectiveness of this Declaration. On behalf of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, I commit the Forum’s devotion to this duty.
This is a Declaration which sets the minimum international standards for the protection and promotion of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Therefore, existing and future laws, policies, and programs on indigenous peoples will have to be redesigned and shaped to be consistent with this standard.
Madame President, Before I end my statement let me briefly thank the others whom I have not mentioned yet. I thank H.E. Ambassador Luis de Alba who chaired the Human Rights Council which adopted the Declaration in 2006. I thank Luis Enrique Chavez, the Chair of the Working Group on the Draft Declaration who did his best to balance the interests of Indigenous Peoples and States in Working Group and in the text he submitted to the Human Rights Council. Let me also thank H.E. Ambassador Hilario Davide whom you appointed as a facilitator. He has contributed to this end result. And I thank the delegates of Mexico, Peru and Guatemala and the African Group of States who managed to come together and make the final version of this Declaration.
I also thank all my co-members of the Permanent Forum who gave their full support for the adoption of the Declaration and reiterated in our recommendation No. 68 in our 5th Session in 2006 and No. 73 in the 6th Session that this Declaration will be an “instrument of great value to advance the rights and aspirations of indigenous peoples”. We all feel proud that this Declaration has been adopted within the period that we sit as members of the Permanent Forum. I thank the Secretariat who were always there to support us.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, has to be thanked also for his contributions to raising the issues of indigenous peoples before the United Nations.
I thank the NGOs especially IWGIA, NCIV, DOCIP, Quakers, Amnesty International, IFG, Rights and Democracy and many others, who helped us in various ways.
I also express my gratitude to Les Malezer, the chair of the Global Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus who successfully brought the indigenous peoples’ regional caucuses to agree on the most important decisions which had to be made.
Finally, let me reiterate my thanks again to all indigenous leaders, activists and experts and the NGO experts who all contributed to this historic achievement. Some of them are with us today also. Some indigenous elders and NGO experts have already passed away and I would like to specifically mention, Tony Blackfeather, Ed Burnstick, among other elders, and Andrew Gray, Howard Berman and Bob Epstein, the NGO experts who accompanied us in this work. Let us pay tribute to them and thank them in our hearts.
While I express my thanks to all the actors involved in the various stages of the process, I also call on everybody to take on the responsibility to ensure the effective implementation of this Declaration.
The challenge to ensure the respect, protection and fulfillment of Indigenous Peoples Rights has just begun. We foresee that there will be great difficulties in implementing this Declaration because of lack of political will on the part of the governments, lack of resources and because of the vested interests of rich and powerful. However, we will be counting on the continuing good faith shown by States today who voted for the adoption of the Declaration. We will be counting on the United Nations System to help implement the Declaration.
Effective implementation of the Declaration will be the test of commitment of States and the whole international community to protect, respect and fulfill indigenous peoples collective and individual human rights.
I call on governments, the UN system, Indigenous Peoples and civil society at large to rise to the historic task before us and make the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples a living document for the common future of humanity.
Thank you Madame President.





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