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‘They must see us face to face’ |
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Indigenous peoples want to be treated on the level, Guatemala’s Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú told a Summit of women of the Americas. But there is a long way to go because indigenous peoples were not heard at the Johannesburg Summit and are still waiting for the approval of a United Nations declaration on their rights.
This year marked the tenth anniversary of Guatemalan indigenous leader Rigoberta Menchú’s Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in remembrance of the 500 years since the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
The leaders of the indigenous communities of the Western Hemisphere did not have much to celebrate, however. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development this year, their voices were not heard and, in spite of the intense efforts over the last few years, the draft Declaration of the United Nations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples remains shelved.
In early December, Menchú organized the First Indigenous Women Summit of the Americas, held in Mexico. She opened the event saying, “we want a future in which they do not look down on us, but rather look at us face to face, that the deal with us face to face, especially the international financial institutions, the groups in power and the governments”
Undoubtedly, the indigenous peoples of Ecuador are more likely to be treated face to face in 2003. In an unprecedented political event in the region, the indigenous movement in this Andean nation is preparing to take part in government, as retired army officer Lucio Gutiérrez takes office as president Jan 15, a victory achieved largely thanks to indigenous support.
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