U.S. to review its position on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigneous Peoples

April 20, 2010 -- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, announced today that the United States will conduct a formal review of its position on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Hopefully this means the United States will eventually join the world community and adopt the UN Declaration.

Listen to Robert T. Coulter's full statement:

Full statement by Ambassador Susan Rice: http://usun.state.gov/briefing/statements/2010/140600.htm

 

New Zealand endorses the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

 

April 19, 2010 -- New Zealand announced their endorsement of the UN Declaration during the opening session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 


"We are pleased to express our support for the Declaration as both an affirmation of fundamental rights and an expression of new and widely supported aspirations."

--Pita Sharples, New Zealand's Minister of Maori Affairs

New Zealand was one of only four countries, along with the United States, Canada, and Australia, that voted against the Declaration when it was adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2007.  Australia was the first of the four countries to reverse its stance on the Declaration, doing so in April 2009. 


Watch the video: Pita Sharples, New Zealand's Minister of Maori Affairs, announces New Zealand's support of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Sharples statement begins at 1 hr 25 min)

Read the full statement