"Exploitation,Subjugations&Domination"-Indigenous Forum

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Dalee Sambo Dorough, Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:
“As far as US foreign policy is concerned the United States Government really ought to look at the serious and real life conditions domestically within its own borders and I think that to some extent President Obama has taken steps in order to do so but it is not enough, especially when the history of exploitations, subjugations and domination that is a well known history and in regard to that history the US government could double, triple or quadruple their efforts to really effectively and meaningfully change conditions for indigenous people in the United States and domestically.”

United Nations Member States have the responsibility to uphold the human rights principles outlined in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a member of the UN forum focusing on the issues said today, adding that violations of the fundamental rights of those communities persist.

“First and foremost, the nation Member States of the United Nations are to take the initial obligation to begin to adopt policies and legislation to maintain consistence with the human rights standards that are embraced in the declaration,” said Dalee Sambo Dorough, a member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, at a press conference at UN Headquarters.

She said the direct and often brutal violations of the basic rights of indigenous people in every region of the world continue, even in areas where success had been achieved, such as in Canada where an agreement over land use between the aboriginal communities in Nunavut has faced implementation hitches.

“The reality of the UN declaration is that the rights of indigenous people did not arise out of the goodwill of States,” said Ms. Dorough.

“Rather, it is because of the entire history of exploitation, colonization, as well as the full range of human rights violations that the indigenous community has pressed the UN to open its doors in order to for us to take our rightful place not only in the context of the human rights pillar of the UN, but also in the environment, as well as the peace and security pillar,” she told reporters on the sidelines of deliberations in the two-week Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

The forum is aimed at advancing the rights of the estimated 370 million indigenous people worldwide. More than 1,300 delegates are participating.

This year’s forum is focusing on reviewing progress made on issues ranging from economic and social development to the environment and whether indigenous peoples have given free, prior and informed consent to decisions affecting their communities.

Directors:

• Muhamed Sacirbey UNTV

Producers:

• Susan Sacirbey