August 9, 1994 - Indigenous People - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

UN urges world to recognize issues of indigenous people. Every August 9th, the United Nations celebrates indigenous people’s rights. The designation grew from the formation of a UN working committee on August 9, 1982, assigned to study human rights issues pertaining to indigenous people. Twelve years later in 1994, the UN decided to draw more attention to these issues by establishing the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. The UN’s goal is to strengthen international cooperation on human rights, the environment, development, education and health where they apply to indigenous peoples. However, the UN has more than just a ceremonial day in mind. After almost a quarter century of discussions, on June 29, 2006 the UN Human Rights Council adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This declaration, which accepts the notion of “self determination” and various forms of sovereignty for indigenous people, has been accepted by most governments around the world. However, countries that feel they have the most to lose because of large indigenous populations, have not given their approval and therefore it has not been approved by the General Assembly. The United States, Australia and New Zealand strongly oppose the declaration and other African countries began voicing some concerns. While Canada helped frame the agreement years ago, the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007 began to move away from previous governments’ support.

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