Small Island Developing States Conference: Last Day to Register

Dear colleagues,

The Third Conference on Small Island Developing States, taking place between 1-4 September in Apia, Samoa, is rapidly approaching.

Preceding the meeting, four Pre-Conference Forums will take place in select locations in Apia from 28-31 August 2014. The Pre-Conference Forums will be held outside of the UN security perimeter and therefore don’t require accreditation to the SIDS Conference. Further information on these activities is available on the SIDS website: www.sids2014.org/index.php?menu=1567

Participation in the Major Groups and other Stakeholders Forum, which will take place on Thursday, 28 (evening) and Friday, 29 August 2014, is subject to registration. Today is the last day to register - if you are planning on attending, you must fill out this form. More information on the Forum can be found here.

We would also like to use this opportunity to remind representatives of organizations that are accredited with the United Nations and plan to attend the official Conference to register here. Conference registration for Major Groups and other stakeholders’ representatives will close on Monday, 4 August 2014.

Warm regards,
Ms. Martina Muller
Major Groups Program
Communications & Outreach - UN DESA/DSD

APA, GOIP expect gov't to back UN Indigenous Peoples rights declaration

APA, GOIP expect gov't to back UN Indigenous Peoples rights declaration

The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) and the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) said yesterday that they expect the Guyana Government to vote for the immediate adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13.

According to a joint APA/GOIP press release, the government has had a further opportunity to make its input to the Declaration and it was also on record as stating that "the Government of Guyana unequivocally supports the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the belief that such a document would strengthen global efforts to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples."

"We strongly believe that the Declaration which was already adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2006 represents the most important international instrument for the promotion and protection of human rights for indigenous peoples," the release stated.

And it noted also that indigenous peoples around the world have been lobbying their governments to support the adoption of the Declaration as this would be a major step towards eliminating the widespread human rights violations suffered by over 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide.

The APA and GOIP said further that they were aware that the Declaration which previously came up for consideration before the UN General Assembly in November 2006 was deferred to allow member states the opportunity to have further consultations. Since then a number of proposed amendments to the Declaration have been made, they said, and Guyana was among a group of seven states which had called for amendments to the Declaration.

The release also recalled statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an August 16 press release which said, among other things, that the deferral of the adoption of the Declaration provided "small states like Guyana with a significant Amerindian population to share views and make timely inputs on the text since Guyana which does not have a mission in Geneva was constrained in participating in the lengthy preparation of the Draft Declaration."

Source: Stabroek News, 7 Sept. 2007

GUYANA TAKES RETRORADE STEP ON UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Joint GOIP/APA Press Release

GUYANA TAKES RETRORADE STEP ON UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

As Guyana and the rest of the world commemorate another International Day of Indigenous Peoples on August 9, 2007, the Guyanese Organization of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) and the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) are calling on the Government of Guyana to vote for the approval of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Declaration) when it again comes before the UN General Assembly next month.

We are extremely disappointed to learn that Guyana has joined with six other states namely Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Russia and Surinam in asking for the Declaration which represents over two decades of expert and rigorous effort involving states and indigenous peoples to be redrafted. This represents a most retrograde step on the part of Guyana and those states which have taken this position. We are dismayed that Guyana has aligned itself with this small group of states which are proposing that one-sided changes are made to a vital document that constitutes the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples.

We gravely concerned about this development taking into consideration that GOIP had written to His Excellency President Jagdeo on February 7, 2007, requesting that Guyana endorse the Declaration. In a response dated June 14, 2007, the Honourable Minister of Amerindian Affairs stated that the Government of Guyana “is fully supportive of a process that would result in a Declaration that is unambiguous, preserves national unity and ultimately improve the lot of the world’s indigenous peoples.”

GOIP and APA are convinced that the Declaration which was adopted by the Human Rights Council of the UN in June 2006 represents the most important international instrument for the promotion and protection of human rights for indigenous peoples which fits the criteria that the Government says it is supportive of. We are therefore dismayed that the Government has suddenly taken this extreme position.

The GOIP and APA hereby urge the Government to reconsider its position and support the adoption of the Declaration in its present form.

GOIP Executive Committee,
APA Executive Committee,
7th August, 2007