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18 October
1993
YEAR OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE COMMEMORATED ON
CAPITOL HILL
Congressmen, Diplomats, Human Rights Advocates
Nobel Laureate Gather to View Exhibit, Address
Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C., 15 October (UN Information Centre) --
Members of Congress, the diplomatic corps, human rights advocates
and friends of indigenous people gathered last evening in the
United States Senate's Russell Rotunda for a special exhibit of
portraits of indigenous people by TIME photographer William
Coupon. The exhibit commemorated United Nations Day and the 1993
International Year of the World's Indigenous People. Guest of
Honour, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, the 1992 Nobel Peace Laureate, and
other special guests addressed the gathering of more than 300
people.
The event was hosted by the United Nations Information Centre
and the United Nations Representatives in Washington, in
cooperation with United States Congressmen Tom Lantos and John
Edward Porter, Co-Chairmen of the Congressional Human Rights
Caucus. The collection of Mr. Coupon's portraits has been open to
the public for two weeks and includes subjects from the Americas,
Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Rigoberta Menchu Tum recalled her experience as a young woman
living in a native Indian community in Guatemala and the injustice
and exploitation that inspired her to social activism on behalf of
her people. She spoke of the heavy price she paid for her
activism, including the brutal deaths of her parents and brother.
She also spoke of the beauty and culture of the photographs
in the collection. "What hurts Indians most", she said, "is that
our costumes are considered beautiful, but it's as if the person
wearing it didn't exist". She stressed the importance of
promoting greater awareness of the hardships and difficulties that
many indigenous people faced and called on Governments and the
United Nations to work diligently to preserve the rights and
cultures of indigenous people throughout the globe.
Representative Porter spoke of the struggle that continued to
characterize the political and cultural identities of much of the
world's
indigenous people, which he described as one of the most
disadvantaged groups on earth. "The United States and the
developed countries have a responsibility to protect the
political, cultural and environmental rights of indigenous
peoples", he said. Representative Lantos focused on the need to
ensure that indigenous cultures not only survived, but had the
necessary protection to flourish. "We also have a responsibility
to remind the world of the contribution which indigenous people
make to the world as a whole", he said.
This past week, the two representatives introduced a
resolution to the House of Representatives calling for the United
States to cooperate with indigenous people and the United Nations
in promoting the improvement of political and social conditions
for indigenous people. Senator Daniel Alaka introduced a similar
resolution in the Senate. Both versions call on the United
Nations to proclaim an International Decade of the World's
Indigenous People. In addressing the gathering, Senator Alaka
said, "As a native Hawaiian who continuously must struggle to call
attention to the plight of my kindred people, I can assure you
that one year is not sufficient to promote public awareness of the
rights of the world's indigenous peoples".
This year's theme -- "Indigenous People: A Partnership" --
aims to encourage the development of new relationships between
States and indigenous people and between the international
community and indigenous people, explained Gillian Martin
Sorensen, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Public
Policy. "The new partnership must be equitable and based on
mutual respect and understanding", she said.
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