GHRC/USA Human Rights UPDATE
PEACENET Version #37
October 1, 1993
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DEMAND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS In the
context of the International Year of Indigenous Peoples, the
international indigenous community has united to demand respect
for their rights and to convoke the Second Summit Meeting of
Indigenous Peoples, which will take place in Oaxtepec, Morelos,
Mexico, October 4-8. At the meeting the groups plan to affirm
the conclusions of the First Summit Meeting of Indigenous Peoples
and the "Declaration of B'okob" (Chimaltenango). They also plan
to work toward an "International Decade of Indigenous Peoples,"
formulating a concrete proposal for the UN General Assembly in
December.
RIGOBERTA MENCH~ QUESTIONS UN COMMITMENT TO INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
Rigoberta Mench# Tum, the winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize,
received an honorary doctorate degree from Kanichi Fakuda, the
president of the Meji-gakuin University in Japan. At a press
conference during her week-long stay in the country, Mench#
criticized the UN and other international organizations for a
lack of enthusiasm in protecting the rights of the indigenous.
Mench# said, "They support humanitarian work in an incorrect way,
letting themselves be influenced by current fashion...but drop
the projects when they are no longer in style."