United Nations forum on indigenous issues by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon 4:27am 18th Apr, 2010   The annual United Nations forum on indigenous issues opened with a call from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Member States to promote development while respecting the values and traditions of indigenous peoples.    "The loss of irreplaceable cultural practices and means of artistic expression makes us all poorer, wherever our roots may lie," Mr. Ban told the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. This years theme at the forum is "Development with Culture and Identity."    "I call on all governments, indigenous peoples, the UN system and all other partners to ensure that the vision behind the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples becomes a reality for all," the Secretary-General added.    Mr. Ban"s call comes as New Zealand announced today that it will reverse its decision and support the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples. New Zealand was one of four countries - the others being Australia, Canada and the United States - that voted against the Declaration in 2007. Australia reversed its decision last year.    The landmark document outlines the rights of the world"s estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlaws discrimination against them.    A non-binding text, the declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues.    Some 2,000 indigenous representatives are estimated to take part in the two-week meeting, which include Member States, UN agencies and civil society groups.    During the forum, participants will focus on Articles 3 and 32 of the declaration, which guarantee indigenous peoples full and effective participation in development processes, including thorough consultation in the establishment of development programs and policies.    "Indigenous cultures, languages and ways of life are under constant threat from climate change, armed conflict, lack of educational opportunities and discrimination," the Secretary-General highlighted in his speech.    "Elsewhere, your cultures are being distorted, commodified, and used to generate profits which do not benefit indigenous people, and can even lead to harm."    Indigenous peoples make up five per cent of the world"s population, but some 33 per cent of the world"s poor, according to State of the World"s Indigenous Peoples, released in January and the first UN report of its kind.    Of the some 7,000 languages being spoken today, more than 4,000 are spoken by indigenous peoples. Language specialists predict that up to 90 per cent of the world"s languages are likely to become extinct or threatened with extinction by the end of the century, eroding a essential component of a group"s identity, the Secretary-General said.    "Indigenous peoples traditional knowledge and practices are increasingly being recognized as vital for conservation work and efforts to combat and adapt to climate change, the Forum said in a news release. Yet despite this recognition, indigenous cultures have been damaged more often than not by development policies that ignore their traditional sources of knowledge and cultural priorities and fail to respect their land rights.    On the issue of peoples and forests, the Forum noted that policies that treat woodlands as empty areas available for development often force indigenous peoples out of their homes. In addition, some conservation schemes establish wilderness reserves that deny forest-dwellers their rights.    Development policies that take into account indigenous peoples culture and identity can be beneficial not only to indigenous peoples, but also for Member States and developing countries in particular, it said. Visit the related web page
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