STATEMENT OF THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA IN REPRESENTATION OF THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE AMAZON COOPERATION TREATY ORGANIZATION (ACTO) AT THE
WORLD CONFERENCE ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
New York, 22 September 2014
The eight Member Countries of Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) – Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela,- acknowledge the efforts and achievements at the regional and international level in recent decades on the rights of indigenous peoples, especially after the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.
We welcome the efforts to open dialogue between states and indigenous peoples around the world that has led to this significant World Conference on Indigenous Peoples , since it has been an important year for the exchange of experiences and perspectives among various stakeholders with regard to the possibilities of realization of human and collective rights of indigenous peoples.
The Amazon, have an approximate geographical extent of seven million square kilometers and is the largest rainforest in the world, with rich biological ecosystems and a diverse social-cultural environment, also home to nearly 400 tribes of Indigenous Peoples, including approximately 70 living in voluntary isolation. Their languages and traditional knowledge represent very specific world views regarding the relationship between their physical and cultural reproduction and life in harmony with nature. Such socio-cultural wealth consolidates a huge heritage of the Amazon region and of all mankind.
In this context, it was agreed at the ACTO Regional Preparatory Meeting for the UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples held in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, Bolivia on August 1-2, 2014, to submit the proposals coming from the block of the Amazon countries on best practices and recognition of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples so that this could be included in the Outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on September 23, 2014.
It is important that the Draft Outcome Document on the Conference, reflect the views of the Member Countries of ACTO, such as the participation of indigenous peoples in dialogue spaces on matters that directly or indirectly affect them at national and international levels, the principle of the right to free, prior and informed consultation and the need to develop mechanisms and policies to promote the rights of indigenous peoples, especially women, children, youth and elderly, as well as persons with disabilities.
We, ACTO Member Countries, recommend that other relevant matters or themes are included in the document, such as:the right of indigenous peoples to be consulted through their representative institutions, on the economic activities and development projects that potentially could affect them; establishment of respectful and harmonious relations between States and indigenous peoples; protection and addressing threats faced by indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and/or initial contact, and by those at risk of extinction or disappearance; the commitment of countries to generate specialized and culturally appropriate public policies that allow development with identity; and recognition of the importance of traditional knowledge as expressions of the unique traditional ways of life, political organization, and relationship of Indigenous peoples with the environment, with a view to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Also, to strengthen horizontal international cooperation for solving the problems faced by Indigenous Peoples.
We urge countries to emphasize the importance of defining concrete actions to address the prejudice, discrimination and violence against indigenous peoples, as well as the enforcement of their rights at all levels.
We emphasize the crucial role of the United Nations in the definition of a concrete Work-Plan on relevant issues to contribute to the central themes of the World Conference.
We recommend and propose formal amendments to strengthen the composition of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, to increase its effectiveness, in accordance with the principle of representation: to increase the membership to 20 members, with two places designated for representatives of Indigenous Peoples in the 3 most populous socio-cultural regions and 1 place designated for the respective representatives of other regions.
Finally, we invite Governments to recognize in their laws, the fundamental contributions of indigenous peoples to the international community, in the protection of Mother Earth/Nature; and also to acknowledge that planet Earth and its ecosystems are our home, to achieve a fair balance among the economic, social, and environmental needs of present and future generations. Therefore, it is necessary to promote harmony with Nature, with Mother Earth.