Friday, December 11, 2009

Online Petition: I Respect Human Rights- Human Rights Day 2009

Takahi Guaitiao (Greetings Relatives): December 10, 2009, marked the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global enunciation of human rights. These are basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Examples of these rights include but are not limited to the right to life, the right to economic, social and cultural rights, the right to water, the right to food, and the right to education.

Today, the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) launched a petition called “I Respect Human Rights! Human Rights Day 2009”. The petition reads:

"On the occasion of Human Rights Day, 10 December 2009, I affirm my commitment to the universal human rights, including the human rights of Indigenous Peoples as embodied in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."

Please sign the petition online at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/IPRights/petition.html

Please share with others in your network. Haho (Thank you)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

OAS - Record of the Current Status of the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Dear civil society representative,

On behalf of Dr. Irene Klinger, Director of the Department of International Affairs of the Organization of American States (OAS), we would like to share with you the document GT/DADIN/doc.334/08 rev. 5 "Record of the Current Status of the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."

This document is the result of the Twelfth Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus by the Working Group to Prepare the Draft Declaration of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, which took place November 30 - December 2, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

In this meeting, the OAS Member States considered the following topics: right to belong to an indigenous people; systems of knowledge, language, and communication; education; indigenous family; transfers and relocations; collective rights; health; rights of association, assembly, and freedom of expression and thought; indigenous law and jurisdiction; and contributions of the indigenous legal and organizational systems.

For more information about the Twelfth Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus and the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit the Website of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft Declaration http://www.oas.org/consejo/CAJP/Indigenous.asp.

Sincerely,

Department of International Affairs
Secretariat for External Relations
Organization of American States

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

United Nations - Invitation Letter to the 9 Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 19-30 April 2010

Division for Social Policy and Development
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
Room DC2-1324, 2 United Nations Plaza, New York, New York 10017
Tel: (212) 963-3175  Fax: (212) 963-3062  E-mail: ngoran@un.org

Dear Friend,

On behalf of Mr. Jean-Pierre Gonnot, Acting Director, Division for Social Policy and Development (DPSD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA,. I have the pleasure to inform you that the Ninth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will be convened from 19 to 30 April 2010 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Due the structural work relating to the United Nations premises at Headquarters referred to as the Capital Master Plan, no specific information on the venue of the session can be provided at this time. Further information will be available at the website of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in due time: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/session_ninth.html

The special theme of the ninth session will be “Indigenous peoples: development with culture and identity; articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. The session will also include discussions on North America and a number of ongoing priorities and themes, as well as an in-depth dialogue with several United Nations agencies. Further information on the ninth session is available at the following link: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/session_ninth.html

Should your organization wish to send one or more representatives to the forum, please provide the names(s) of your designated representative (s) to us by using the online pre-registration system through the following link no later than 22 March 2010: http://www.un.org/ecosoc/csonet. You must sign in to the online system using your assigned username and password (use the "Click here to Sign In" in the upper right corner once you reach the website) then click on the link "Invitations" that appears on the left side menu bar. You will then see the link to the forum event where you can pre-register, designate your representatives and download your letter of invitation. In case you cannot use the online pre-registration system for any technical reason, please get in touch with us.

For further questions regarding pre-registration, please contact Mr. Yao Ngoran, Chief, Civil Society and Outreach Unit, Division for Social Policy and Development, DC2-1324, United Nations, NY 10017, fax: (212) 963-3062, Email: ngoran@un.org.

Representatives of organizations in need of a visa to enter the United States should note that United States Consulates request that visa applications be submitted three months prior to the opening of the session. Therefore we encourage representatives of interested non-governmental organizations (NGOs), indigenous peoples’ organizations (IPOs) and academic institutions to submit their visa applications as early as possible, preferably before 19 January 2010.

NGO representatives in possession of annual group-passes are also encouraged to pre-register using the Online Pre-registration System. Pre-registration allows for a proper planning of the session. This process should be completed by 22 March 2010, one month before the opening of the session. It should also be understood that the costs of travel and daily subsistence, arrangements for travel, accommodation and visas are the responsibility of participants.

For additional information regarding your participation at this session of the Permanent Forum, do not hesitate to contact Mr. Yao Ngoran at ngoran@un.org.

Yours sincerely,
Elsa Stamatopoulou
Chief, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Friday, December 4, 2009

CBD Notification 2009-169: Revision and updating of the Strategic Plan

From: Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity
To: CBD National Focal Points and Relevant Organizations

Subject: Revision and updating of the Strategic Plan of the Convention for the post-2010 Period: Possible Outline and Elements of the New Strategic Plan

Thematic area: Strategic Plan / 2010 Biodiversity Target

Ref.: SCBD/ITS/DC/LC/69800

NOTIFICATION
No. 2009-169

Dear Madam/Sir,

I am pleased to inform you that a discussion document on the Revision and Updating of the Strategic Plan of the Convention for the Post-2010 Period: Possible Outline and Elements of the New Strategic Plan (UNEP/CBD/SP/PREP/2) is available for your review at: https://www.cbd.int/sp/sp2010+/

As you are aware, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, at its tenth meeting in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010, is due to adopt a revised and updated Strategic Plan for the CBD, including post-2010 biodiversity target(s), on the basis of a recommendation by the third meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group on the Review of Implementation of the Convention (WGRI-3) and inputs from the fourteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-14), both to be held in Nairobi in May 2010. As set out in decision IX/9, Parties and observers are invited to submit their views on the process. The aforementioned document (UNEP/CBD/SP/PREP/2) is intended to stimulate further discussions and inputs from Parties and all stakeholders. In addition, a number of consultations are being organized. Full information is provided at the above-mentioned webpage.

Submissions should reach secretariat@cbd.int no later than 11 January 2010, so that they can be taken into account in the preparation of relevant documentation for WGRI-3 and SBSTTA-14.

The full text of this notification is available on the CBD website at: http://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2009/ntf-2009-169-sp-en.pdf

Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Ahmed Djoghlaf
Executive Secretary
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
United Nations Environment Programme
413 Saint-Jacques Street, Suite 800
Montreal , Quebec , Canada
H2Y 1N9

Tel: +1 514 288 2220
Fax: +1 514 288 6588
E-mail: secretariat@cbd.int
Web: http://www.cbd.int