Indigenous people "deeply connected to mother earth" - Ban

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on countries around the globe Monday to pay more attention to indigenous people, describing them as "deeply connected to mother earth." Ban, at the opening of the World's Conference on Indigenous Peoples on the sidelines of the 69th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session that kicked off today, said this is the most important week of the year at the UN and this Conference is one of "our most important events because it connects so much of our most critical work." Ban stressed that the indigenous people were concerned about issues that top the global agenda, as they are deeply connected to Mother Earth - whose future is at the heart of the Climate Summit that would be opened tomorrow.
Deliberations and decisions taken during this conference will reverberate across the international community with concrete effects in the lives of indigenous people, who are "the central to our discourse of human rights and global development," he said.
Ban said the Conference draft Outcome Document would contain action-oriented commitments to bridge the gap between promises and results.
He then thanked all the indigenous peoples and governments that cooperated in good faith to produce this draft.
On his part, the President of the 69th session of the UNGA Sam Kahamba Kutesa said that the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples is a culmination of the dynamic interface between the UN and the indigenous peoples of the world over the last 50 years.
"The process leading to this Conference has been unprecedented in the history of the Organization, as it has involved active participation of indigenous peoples in its preparation," he stressed.
At national level, Kutesa said there have been many declarations of commitments, policies, and legislative actions to improve the conditions of indigenous peoples, but there continues to be a deep chasm between these commitments and reality.
He stressed on the conference to serve as a turning point for translating the Declaration into concrete action.
The Outcome Document, which will be adopted today, he said, is another pact between Indigenous Peoples and Member States which builds on the Declaration (end) mao.ibi