ARCHIVED NEWS ITEMS FOR AUGUST 2007
Message of European
Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, on the occasion of the International Day of the World’s
Indigenous Peoples, 9 August 2007
Message of
European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, on the occasion of the International Day of the World’s
Indigenous Peoples, 9 August 2007
Today we mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This is
an important moment to celebrate the enormous diversity and cultural wealth of
indigenous peoples in all parts of the world. For populations whose
relationship to the earth and natural elements is such an integral part of
their identity, climate change poses a particular threat. Rising sea levels,
disappearing glaciers, and the desertification of once resource rich and
fertile areas threaten their very survival as individuals and peoples. The
European Union is in the forefront of international efforts to tackle the
challenge of adaptation through more responsible energy use, through improving
education and awareness, and through promoting global commitments to halt
climate change. As we pursue this course we will ensure that we honour our
commitments to protect natural ecosystems such as rainforests, and the
traditional population of these habitats, in particular their food security and
traditions. In 2003, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
published a number of recommendations which identified the primary areas of
concern in the position of indigenous peoples in today’s world. A key demand of
the Permanent Forum was the rapid adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples. I hope the remaining obstacles to this process will soon
be removed so that we can celebrate its adoption by the UN General Assembly in
the near future. On behalf of the European Commission I re-state our unwavering
commitment to support indigenous peoples all over the world.
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