UN General Assembly adopts Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples

United Nations adopts Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples

13 September 2007 – The General Assembly today adopted a landmark declaration outlining the rights of the world’s estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlawing discrimination against them – a move that followed more than two decades of debate.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been approved after 143 Member States voted in favour, 11 abstained and four – Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States – voted against the text.

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.

Continued: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=23794&Cr=indigenous&Cr1=#

UN General Assembly to vote on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

**Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The Assembly is scheduled to take action on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at a plenary meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, 13 September, in the GA Hall. At the same meeting the Assembly will also pay tribute to the Presidents of the 30th and 24th sessions, Mr. Gaston Thorn of Luxembourg and Ms. Angie Brooks of Liberia, respectively, who passed away recently. Ms. Brooks was the second woman to serve as President of the General Assembly.

http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2007/db070911.doc.htm