Dhaka: December 2, 2014. The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) has expressed concern over the Government’s lack of political will leading to the failure of full implementation of the CHT Accord 17 years after its signing. The CHTC has called upon the Government to urgently adopt and enforce a roadmap with clear milestones for implementation of the Accord ensuring full participation of all stakeholders.

The Awami League signed the Accord together with PCJSS on December 2, 1997 and the present Awami League government has repeatedly pledged to implement the Accord, both nationally through each of its election manifestos to date and internationally during the Universal Periodic Reviews in 2009 and 2013. Yet the state of peace and stability in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has continued to deteriorate throughout the two terms the government has held office and there have been no efforts to strengthen local institutions and ensure end to land conflict which has led to the deterioration of the human rights situation in the area.

Amendment of the HDC Acts and failure to hold elections

On November 23, 2014 parliament passed the three Hill District Councils amendment acts despite strong opposition from the indigenous community. The Ministry of CHT Affairs tabled the Rangamati Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill 2014, the Khagrachari Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill 2014 and the Bandarban Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill 2014 on July 1. As a result of passing of these bills the number of interim members of the hill district councils will be increased to 11 from the existing five including three non-indigenous members. By increasing the number of members without an election, the Government has violated the Accord which stipulates the preparation of a voter list comprising only the permanent residents of the three hill districts.

The Government should immediately start the work of resolving land disputes in order to authenticate the permanent residents of the CHT and draw up a voter list and hold elections at the Hill District Councils.

Failure to amend the Land Commission Act

The success of the drawing up of the voter list is directly related to the settlement of the land disputes in the CHT. In the nineteenth session of the 9th National Parliament in October 2013 the Government came close to but failed to pass the Bill on the amendment of the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act 2001. The thirteen points proposed by the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) and the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MOCHTA) which were approved by the CHT Accord Implementation Committee and adopted by the inter‐ministerial committee were approved by the Cabinet on June 3, 2013 and placed in the House on June 16, 2013. This once again proved the lack of political will of the Awami League Government to fulfill a pledge made to the people during the 2008 election to implement the 1997 CHT Accord. Since resuming office in 2014 the Awami League Government has had absolute majority in Parliament. There seems to be no effective opposition preventing the Government from implementing the Accord in full, it is thus disconcerting that no attempts have yet been made to table the Land Commission Amendment Bill in the Parliament sessions.

Failure to end militarism

The Government has failed to dismantle all temporary camps as stipulated in the 1997 CHT Accord and the presence of security forces appears to be increasing. In recent years the securitization has also proliferated through other security forces like the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). There have been allegations of land-grabbing and human rights violations by the BGB in Khagrachari and in Bandarban Sadar.

Not only did the Government fail to conduct independent and impartial investigations into these cases, but civil society groups who went to carry out investigations into the allegations were harassed and threatened by Bengali settler groups with clear impunity.

Threats and attacks on the CHT Commission

The CHT Commission members were attacked and persons in their entourage injured by Bengali settler groups in July 2014 where police failed to apprehend the identified suspects. It appears that there is no freedom to conduct inquiry and express opinion in a democratic manner regarding the complaints of people in the CHT. The Government has also put restrictions on the work of the CHT Commission and protests about such undemocratic restrictions have not been heeded by the Government.

On the 17th anniversary of the signing of the CHT Accord the CHT Commission urges the Government to publicly commit to a roadmap with clear milestones on full implementation of the Accord.

On behalf of the CHT Commission

Eric Avebury, Co-chair of the CHT Commission

Sultana Kamal, Co-chair of the CHT Commission

Elsa Stamatopoulou, Co-chair of the CHT Commission

....................

Kapaeeng Foundation

(A Human Rights Organization for Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh)

Shalma Garden, House # 23/25, Road # 4, Block # B, PC Culture Housing, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207, Telephone: +880-2-8190801

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Web: www.kapaeeng.org

"Together, we are shining a light on acts that bring pain, shame and fear to girls and women" - Executive Director

Speech by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the official UN commemoration of the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, ECOSOC Chamber, New York, 25 November 2014

Date : 25 November 2014

[Check against delivery]

Mr. Secretary-General,

Ms. McCray,

Ms. Hatcher,

Ms. Goksel,

Excellencies,

Ministers,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for joining us to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The activities around this day, and the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence that follow it, are an important opportunity for us to confront the horror of this violence and to commit to extinguish it.

The women’s experiences we have just seen, and the one billion girls and women that they represent, are a poignant and invigorating reminder that this is work that cannot wait.

No country, no culture, no age group is untouched by this massive and pervasive human rights violation.

Far too often, sexual and gender-based crimes go unpunished and the perpetrators walk free. Society turns a blind eye and a deaf ear.

That is going to change.

Yesterday we lit up the Empire State Building and our own UN building as bright orange beacons of promise and hope for a brighter future with no violence against women and girls.

Together, we are shining a light on acts that bring pain, shame and fear to girls and women.

We must continue to gather national facts and figures – and use them to inform the development of effective legislation and policies.

We must uphold the existing laws and provisions that prevent violence and support survivors – and implement them.

We must develop quality essential services for the protection, ongoing safety and recovery of survivors – and get women to use them

And we must all refuse absolutely to condone or participate in harmful acts against women and girls.

This includes having more men and boys standing up against violence, denouncing it, and stopping it.

Male leaders, including traditional and religious leaders, must show the way.

We all have a role in changing norms that accept or ignore violence and confer sexual entitlement.

We all have a role in brightening this world and establishing inclusive, equal societies.

Next year, a new roadmap for development will be adopted by the international community.

Ending violence against women and girls must have a central place in the new framework so that we can make 2015 the beginning of the end of gender inequality.

Source: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/11/ed-speech-at-official-un-commemoration-25-november

Tackling deforestation and other climate mitigation actions will be one of the key items on the agenda of the up-coming Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in December in Lima, Peru (COP20). This has been evidenced in the recent past with the intense negotiations on REDD+ and more recently with the launch of the New York Declaration on Forests, signed by governments, companies and NGOs on the occasion of the UN Climate Summit held in New York September.

REDD+, climate smart agriculture, sustainable supply-chains are now bundled together in a common effort to reduce deforestation and related carbon emissions in tropical areas. However, lack of compliance with internationally agreed safeguards, poor governance reform, and the increasing pressure on indigenous lands and territories require more compelling action to address the danger of exacerbating human rights abuse. Voluntary agreements and private public partnerships cannot substitute for robust public international and national action to target internal and external drivers of deforestation, ensure respect and compliance with international human rights standards and norms and in particular respect for and protection of indigenous peoples’ lands, territories and resources and the principle of free prior and informed consent.

Accountability of governments and companies is even more urgent given the risk that current negotiations leading to COP21 in Paris may pay only lip service to indigenous peoples’ rights and the obligation to ensure a rights-based approach to land-based mitigation, as well as the risk that they will fail to duly recognise the positive contribution of indigenous peoples in forest protection, climate mitigation and adaptation.

For all these reasons, the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) is organising – together with Peruvian Indigenous peoples’ organization AIDESEP – an international public hearing on deforestation and human rights during COP20. The public hearing will be held on December 8th at the Museum of Arts of Lima (MALI). Special guest of the hearing will be Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The hearing will offer a public space for indigenous peoples' leaders from Latin America, Africa and Asia to share their experiences from the field, both experiences with deforestation and associated human rights issues, and experiences in defending forests and resources. The hearing will also launch a groundbreaking report on deforestation, with contributing authors and involved communities present, and the demands of the Palangka Raya Declaration will be reiterated.

In addition to the hearing, that is meant to be a contribution to the activities of the Cumbre de los Pueblos, FPP and a delegation of indigenous peoples’ leaders and CSO representatives from Peru, Colombia, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia will also participate in the activities of the Indigenous Pavilion and at civil society initiatives at the Global Landscapes Forum.

More details on the Palangka Raya Declaration and follow-up work:

Deforestation and the rights of indigenous peoples - Building on the Palangka Raya Declaration

More details about the Public Hearing:

Spanish: http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/private/news/2014/10/Hearing%20Flyer%20-%20Espanol.pdf

English http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/private/news/2014/10/Hearing%20Flyer.pdf

Contact

To pre-register, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve your space to come and exchange experiences and listen to community testimonies.

Follow the conversation on Twitter @ForestPeoplesP #COP20hearing #factsandrights #hechosyderechos

To find out more, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Testimonios de las comunidades muestran el camino a la protección de los derechos y los bosques

La lucha contra la deforestación y otras medidas de mitigación del cambio climático serán uno de los elementos clave de la agenda de la Conferencia de las Partes en la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático, a celebrarse en diciembre en Lima, Perú (COP 20). Estas prioridades se han puesto de manifiesto en los últimos años con las intensas negociaciones en torno a la REDD+, y más recientemente con el lanzamiento de la Declaración de Nueva York sobre los Bosques, firmada por Gobiernos, empresas y ONG con ocasión de la Cumbre sobre el Clima que las Naciones Unidas celebrada en el mes de septiembre en Nueva York.

En la actualidad, la REDD+, la agricultura climáticamente inteligente y las cadenas de suministro sostenibles están agrupadas en un esfuerzo común para reducir la deforestación y las emisiones de carbono en las áreas tropicales. Sin embargo, el incumplimiento de las salvaguardias acordadas internacionalmente, la deficiente reforma de la gobernanza y la creciente presión sobre las tierras y territorios indígenas requieren medidas más contundentes para abordar el peligro de exacerbar las violaciones de los derechos humanos. Los acuerdos voluntarios y las asociaciones público-privadas no pueden reemplazar una acción enérgica internacional y nacional a nivel público para combatir los impulsores internos y externos de la deforestación, garantizar el respeto y cumplimiento de normas y estándares internacionales de derechos humanos y, en particular, el respeto y la protección de tierras, territorios y recursos de los pueblos indígenas, al igual que el principio del consentimiento libre, previo e informado.

La responsabilidad y la rendición de cuentas por parte de los Gobiernos y las empresas son todavía más urgentes debido a que las negociaciones previas a la COP21 en París, actualmente en curso, puedan ser únicamente palabras vacías en lo referente a los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y la obligación de garantizar un enfoque basado en los derechos para la mitigación con base en la tierra. Además, se corre el riesgo de no reconozcan de manera debida la contribución positiva de los pueblos indígenas a la protección de los bosques, la mitigación del clima y la adaptación.

Por todas estas razones, el Forest Peoples Programme o FPP (Programa para los Pueblos de los Bosques) está organizando junto con la organización de pueblos indígenas de Perú AIDESEP una audiencia pública internacional sobre la deforestación y los derechos humanos que se celebrará durante la COP 20. La audiencia pública tendrá lugar el día 8 de diciembre en el Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI). Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Relatora Especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, participará como invitada especial. La audiencia ofrecerá a los líderes de los pueblos indígenas de Latinoamérica, África y Asia un espacio público en el que podrán compartir sus experiencias adquiridas sobre el terreno, bien sea con referencia a la deforestación y los problemas de derechos humanos que conlleva, o a la defensa de los bosques y los recursos. Durante la audiencia se hará público un novedoso informe sobre la deforestación contando con la presencia de algunos de los autores que contribuyeron al informe y las comunidades implicadas, y también se reiterarán las exigencias de la Declaración de Palangka Raya.

Además de la audiencia, que pretende ser una contribución a las actividades de la Cumbre de los Pueblos, el FPP y una delegación de líderes de pueblos indígenas y representantes de OSC de Perú, Colombia, Guyana, Panamá, Paraguay, República Democrática del Congo e Indonesia también participarán en las actividades del Pabellón Indígena y en iniciativas de la sociedad civil en el Foro Mundial de Paisajes.

Para ver más detalles referentes a la Declaración de Palangka Raya y los trabajos de seguimiento, por favor consulte:

Deforestation and the rights of indigenous peoples - Building on the Palangka Raya Declaration

Para obtener más detalles acerca de la audiencia pública, por favor visite:

http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/private/news/2014/10/Hearing%20Flyer%20-%20Espanol.pdf

Contacto

Si desea reservar una plaza para venir a intercambiar experiencias y escuchar testimonios de las comunidades, solicite su preinscripción enviando un mensaje por correo electrónico a esta dirección: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Para más información, por favor contacte a: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. o This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Seguir la conversación en Twitter @ForestPeoplesP #COP20hearing #factsandrights #hechosyderechos

Statement by Victoria Tauli-Corpuz,

Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples

69th session of the General Assembly

Third Committee

Item # 66

20 October 2014

New York

Madame President,

Your Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and gentlemen,

I have the honor to present today my first report to the General Assembly. I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to the numerous States, indigenous peoples, and others for the support they have provided as I have carried out my mandate accorded to me by the Human Rights Council over the past four months.

In my report, given the focus of the General Assembly in reviewing and adopting the post 2015 development agenda, I have provided some thoughts on this crucial issue for indigenous peoples in the hopes of guiding Member States as they reflect further on development priorities. To that end, I have presented an overview of the human rights framework and concerns related to the development and well-being of indigenous peoples. These human rights standards should be viewed in light of the basic principles of non-discrimination and equality undergirding all human rights and the cross-cutting right of self-determination contained in Article 3 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This Article recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination which includes their right to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. I have also included lessons learned and have identified obstacles and advances in achieving the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples. Finally, I offer some recommendations for addressing these concerns in the context of policies and strategies to reach global Sustainable Development Goals and achieve the Post-2015 development framework which will be agreed upon UN member-states in September 2015.

Right to Development of indigenous peoples

Madame President,

Indigenous peoples have come a long way since the adoption of ILO 107 on 'indigenous and tribal populations' in the late 1950s. ILO 107 (1957) was the first attempt to codify international obligations of states with respect to indigenous peoples and called on states to assist indigenous peoples to fully integrate into the national community, with the goal of reaching development and equality. In the 1970s and 1980s, indigenous peoples' representatives challenged the assimilationist content and integrationist approach of ILO 107 and worked for the adoption of ILO Convention 169 (1989) which rectified this weakness. Article 7 of this Convention states that indigenous and tribal peoples have the right to "decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy or otherwise use, and to exercise control over their economic, social and cultural development".

In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Principle 22 of this Declaration acknowledged the vital role of indigenous peoples to environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. This principle further stated that "...States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development." Agenda 21 contained Chapter 26 "Recognizing and Strengthening the Role of Indigenous People and Their Communities". This led to the inclusion of indigenous peoples as one of the 9 major groups which engaged in the various mechanisms and processes around sustainable development.

The landmark UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted in 2007 by the UN General Assembly after more than 20 years of drafting and negotiations. This contained several articles on the right to economic, social and cultural development of indigenous peoples. Foremost among these are Article 3 which I referred to earlier and Article 23 which affirmed that, "Indigenous peoples have the right determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development..."

The most recent global process related to indigenous peoples, the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) held here in this same hall last 22-23 of September 2014, contains several paragraphs on this same concern. Paragraph 34 of the Outcome Document (A/69/L.3) states, "We recognize the significant contribution of indigenous peoples in the promotion of sustainable development, in order to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations..." Additionally, paragraph 37 affirmed the importance of Article 23 of the UNDRIP, mentioned above. It further stated "...we commit ourselves to giving due consideration to all the rights of indigenous peoples in the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda."

Economic, social and cultural rights as they apply to indigenous peoples

Madame President,

I need to stress that States duties to respect, protect and fulfill indigenous peoples' economic, social and cultural rights arises as an integral element of their duties under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right and not solely on their commitment to specific instruments on indigenous peoples' rights such as the Declaration or ILO 169. In the context of development, contemporary standards strive to address discrimination while ensuring respect for their right to define and pursue their self-determined development paths. The right to culture, in the context of indigenous peoples, is contained in Articles 11 to 16 of the Declaration. The Declaration has a remedial purpose and in the words of the previous Rapporteur, James Anaya, "aims at repairing the ongoing consequences of the historical denial of the right to self-determination". Since non-discrimination has an individual and a collective dimension, special measures should not only address the socio-economic gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous sectors of society but also remove discriminatory barriers to the exercise of the rights to self-determined development and cultural integrity.

Lessons learned from current efforts to achieve the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples

Madame President,

Huge challenges in the implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples remain. Sadly, this implementation gap is reflected by the failure of the international community to use the Millennium Development Goals as a vehicle to overcome discrimination and achieve substantial equality for indigenous peoples in the context of development. According to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, special measures are integral to the principle of non-discrimination. Unfortunately, indigenous peoples were not formally involved in the formulation of the MDGs and neither the goals nor the targets and indicators have any reference to the situation of indigenous peoples. Based on available data regarding social and economic conditions of indigenous peoples, it is evident that the MDGs did not address or resolve their social and economic disadvantage.

In my report, I lay out a non-exhaustive list of obstacles and advancements to the full realization of the rights of indigenous peoples to development. Numerous institutions have endorsed that strengthening indigenous peoples' own strategies for sustainable development is not only key to achieving their economic, social and cultural rights but it is also indispensable element of the global efforts to achieve sustainable development. Programs that maximize indigenous self-determination tend to perform better than those controlled by the State or other external actors.

Unfortunately, and as described by the previous Special Rapporteur, the externally designed and managed model for development for indigenous peoples, especially in the area of extractive resources, is still the "standard scenario". I believe that at a minimum, third party development initiatives should be developed within the framework of State regulatory regimes which adequately protect indigenous peoples' rights, ensure participation of and respect for the rights of indigenous peoples in strategic planning at national and local levels in activities related to resource extraction and development. Mechanisms should be put in place to enforce corporations' compliance with their responsibility to respect and protect indigenous peoples' rights and provide remedies when these rights are violated, perform due diligence to assess and avoid any adverse impacts, and ascertain that fair and adequate consultation and negotiation procedures aimed at obtaining free, prior and informed consent.

In this regard, I welcome indigenous peoples' efforts to participate in the processes of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises and the Forum on Business and Human Rights. I hope that indigenous peoples participation will also be ensured at the sessions of the future open-ended intergovernmental working group to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations.

Madame President,

I remain deeply concerned that the particular situation of indigenous peoples often remains invisible within national statistics. In order to devise adequate policy responses to address inequalities and to monitor the effectiveness of measures to overcome discrimination, the existence of relevant information is a precondition. In this regard, I commend the efforts of the Economic Commission on Latin American and the Caribbean which has established a comprehensive database which provides socio-demographic data on indigenous peoples, disaggregated by sex and age, as well as data on internal migration, health, youth and territorial distribution of inequalities. The basis of much of this work is the inclusion of an "indigenous identifier" into the 2000 census round of most countries in Latin America. There is a need to further develop indicators that capture essential aspects of self-determined development, such as status and trends of indigenous languages, security of tenure with regards to lands, territories and resources and the recognition of indigenous customary law and autonomous governance institutions.

An essential element of overcoming discrimination and achieving economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples is the design and delivery of adequate social services, especially within the education and health sectors. Culturally appropriate services are related to higher achievement outcomes. Development strategies must take into account indigenous peoples' languages, traditions, livelihood strategies and autonomous institutions. One way to accommodate indigenous peoples' cultures is to include them in the design, programming and implementation of development efforts.

Additional special measures to protect the most vulnerable individuals and groups are also needed in the area of labor rights. I would particularly draw the attention to the precarious situation of numerous indigenous women, particularly from Latin America and Asia who serve as domestic workers either in their home countries or as migrant workers. In this context, I welcome the entry into force of the Domestic Workers' Convention (ILO No. 189) in September 2013. I also draw the attention to indigenous women who still face additional gender-based discrimination despite the strong and crucial roles played by them in food production, biodiversity conservation, and transmission of languages, culture and knowledge, among many others. As I noted in my first report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/27/52), I will place special emphasis on the issues facing indigenous women and make special efforts to work closely with them to ensure that their concerns are addressed consistently in my work.

Madame President,

It is necessary for States to consult with indigenous peoples and ensure their participation before adopting legislative or administrative measures or projects that affect them. Reviews of UN Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF) which constitute the main framework for UN-system development assistance at the country level have concluded that indigenous peoples had little participation and that most frameworks do not provide for disaggregated data and benchmarks related to indigenous peoples' development. The implications of this omission are simple and far-reaching: if indigenous peoples' needs and concerns are not reflected in these overall frameworks established by governments and supported by the UN-system and other bi and multilateral donors, they may simply be excluded from development efforts and their rights may even be further undermined. It is therefore important for me to reiterate what has been mentioned several times in the recommendations of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to ensure that the UNDAF ensures inclusion of indigenous peoples development priorities. The participation of indigenous peoples' representatives when this is being formulated should also be facilitated. I also would like to urge the OECD-Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) to likewise include respect for indigenous peoples rights as one of the elements of their development assistance framework, just as they have included gender, labor and child rights. These are some of the concrete steps in ensuring that indigenous peoples' rights and priorities on development are integrated in all present and future development decisions and agreements.

Let me conclude by underlining the unique opportunity that the global community has to use the design, implementation and monitoring processes related to the Sustainable Development Goals to address the persistent discrimination against indigenous peoples, as individuals and as collectives with regard to access to and adequacy of development assistance. Overcoming discrimination against indigenous peoples and indigenous women in particular, will require

concerted efforts and in many cases, special measures.

The universality of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals is a unique opportunity to address existing inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous sectors of the population in all countries across the globe. The processes to define, implement and monitor the Sustainable Development Goals should be used as a vehicle to address indigenous peoples' aspirations for self-determined development and achieve equality in development outcomes. It is also crucial that an agreement is reached on how the means of implementation of sustainable development goals will be included in the Post-2015 development agenda. This means looking at the financial and technology development and transfer issues. The Financing for Development (FFD) processes as well as the processes related to technology issues should also allow for more active engagement of indigenous peoples' representatives.

One month after the adoption of the Outcome Document on the World Conference, I remain committed in my role as Special Rapporteur to monitor closely how the United Nations is implementing the WCIP Outcome Document. I will continue to discuss with high level officials and staff of the UN bodies, programmes, agencies and funds to offer my help in making institutions more responsive to indigenous peoples. I also take the opportunity to thank the Member States, indigenous representatives, UN officials and staff who worked to have this document drafted and adopted and warmly congratulate you on setting aside long¬standing differences to agree on this document. While it is not perfect, it is a big stepping stone in the upward struggle to get indigenous peoples' collective and individual human rights respected, protected and fulfilled.

As I work to carry out this mandate, I do so with optimism for a better future for indigenous peoples, encouraged by positive developments in many places, and yet concerned by the reality of ongoing struggles and violations of indigenous peoples throughout the world. I reaffirm my strong commitment to my role as Special Rapporteur, and acknowledge with humility the responsibility it represents.

I thank you all for your kind attention.

Source: http://unsr.vtaulicorpuz.org/site/index.php/en/statements/38-statemente-un-ga-2014