This year marks the end of the UN Decade of
Indigenous Peoples, during which a draft
declaration on their rights was completed
following hundreds of consultations with
indigenous representatives. If agreed upon it
would stand beside the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, marking a turning point for
indigenous peoples. But at the latest round of
talks in Geneva last week the UK and the USA
continued to stall the declaration's progress.

Inuit woman Dalee Sambo Dorough from Alaska says,
'Is British foreign policy simply to follow the
US? They are safeguarding the profits of the
multinationals, not human rightsŠ Is this Tony
Blair's idea of spreading what he calls the
values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law,
and justice for the oppressed?'

Armand MacKenzie, an Innu man from Quebec, adds,
'Our society depends on sharing and on collective
land ownership. The hunter must share his food
today because tomorrow he may rely on someone
else. The notion of the competitive individual
winning out at the expense of all else is very
foreign to us.'


For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44)
(0)20 7687 8734 or  mr@survival-international.org

Photos and footage of indigenous people available.
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