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U.N. adopts declaration for indigenous rights

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 14, 2007

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. General Assembly adopted a declaration Thursday affirming the rights of native peoples worldwide over objections from the United States and Canada, ending two decades of deliberations.

The declaration is not legally binding, but it affirms the equality of the world's 370-million indigenous peoples and their right to maintain their own institutions, cultures and spiritual traditions. It also establishes standards to combat discrimination and marginalization and to eliminate human rights violations against them.

The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were the only countries that voted against the declaration, although 11 nations abstained. The opponents said key parts of the declaration would give indigenous peoples too many rights and clash with existing national laws.

The document calls on countries to prevent or redress the forced migration of indigenous peoples, the seizure of their land and their forced integration into other cultures. It also grants them control over their religious and cultural sites and the right to manage their own educational systems, including teaching in their own languages.

"We're not standing against the issue," said Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the U.N. "We want one that is universal in its scope and can be implemented. What was done today is not clear."

The Working Group on Indigenous Peoples was formed in 1982 and began work on the declaration three years later.

[Last modified September 14, 2007, 00:00:04]