UN Indigenous Forum
Opens
Bolivian President Evo
Morales, ministers from
that country, Ecuador,
Nepal, and some 30
parliamentarians are
attending Monday the
opening ceremony of the
Seventh Session of the
UN Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues.
The meeting, to be run
until May 2, is the
first one since the
creation in September of
the UN Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, which had been
negotiated for 20 years.
The main issue this time
is the impact of the
climate change in native
peoples.
Figures like Ahmed
Djoghlaf, executive
secretary of the UN
Convention on Biological
Diversity, Leo Morores,
president of the
Economic and Social
Council, Jomo Kwame
Sundaram, assistance of
the General Secretary,
as well as 3,000
delegates from
indigenous communities
worldwide attends the
event.
Among activities is a
news conference by
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz,
president of the UN
Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues, and
Myrna Cunningham,
director of the Center
for Autonomous Native
Peoples and Development
of Nicaragua, as well as
a cultural exhibition,
sponsored by the
International Labor
Organization.
The agenda includes
topics like climate
change, bio-cultural
diversity, means of
survival, managing role
of indigenous peoples
and new challenges, and
the situation of the
Guarani people in
Bolivia.
The Bolivian president
is expected to give a
news conference today on
the situation in his
country. |
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