As 2010 draws to a close, both the United States and the United Nations have reached out to one of the world’s most marginalised groups in society: indigenous peoples.
The 192-member General Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution last week calling for a first-ever World Conference on Indigenous Peoples to be held in 2014.
The primary aim is to protect the long-ignored rights - and preserve the fast-fading cultures - of over 370 million people, who comprise about 5 percent of the world’s population and about 15 percent of the world’s poor, according to the United Nations.
The preparatory work for the conference, which will include the drafting of an elaborate Plan of Action, will be spread over a period of three years beginning 2011. Read more