RESOLUTION

More than 300 Indigenous people gathered at the International Indigenous Conference in Kimberley South Africa, today resolved to demand for the inclusion of a clause that reaffirms the vital role of Indigenous people in sustainable development in the Political Declaration at the World Summit.

The delegates who include more than 100 international participants adopted a proposal to lobby for the insertion of a sentence that reads: “we reaffirm the vital role of the indigenous peoples in sustainable development” in the proposed elements for the political Declaration of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Chaired by the international Indigenous Peoples’ lobbyist Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the conference resolved to press for the inclusion of the sentence through regional groups like the European Union, the G7, and the African Union.

“Let’s pressure our governments to have this sentence included, let’s use every opportunity with the press and pressure groups to push this through” urged Tauli-Corpuz.

The indigenous lobbyists will also display banners and clad in T-shirts that call for inclusion of the sentence into the Declaration at the Johannesburg Summit.

The week-long Indigenous Conference is expected to end today to allow the delegates travel to Johannesburg over the weekend for the opening of the World Summit on Monday.

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Copyright Natalie Drache 1999