THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE  #206 (OCTOBER 2007)

This issue’s contents:

COVER: At Last… a UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A major victory and challenge
By Victoria Tauli-Corpuz

After more than two decades of struggle, the world's indigenous peoples achieved a major victory when in September, the United Nations General Assembly finally adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, explains the significance of the landmark document and the obstacles encountered in effecting its passage at the UN.

Implementation of Declaration is key, say indigenous leaders
By Martin Khor

Follow-up action to implement the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a key priority, according to leaders of indigenous peoples, following its historic adoption by the UN General Assembly.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Towards re-empowerment
By  S James Anaya & Siegfried Wiessner

While the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples may not be legally binding per se, in important parts, it reaffirms customary international law, say two law professors.

Indigenous congress demands teeth for UN Declaration
By Franz Chavez

Indigenous leaders held a regional congress in Bolivia in October to discuss strategies to oblige governments to take on board as state policy the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 September.

Land of hope and glory
By  Sandy Gauntlett

The explanation for the New Zealand government's 'no' vote on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples may be found in the pending decision on the legal claim filed by several indigenous groups to the indigenous flora and fauna of that country, says Sandy Gauntlett.

New Zealand is not fit to sit on UN Human Rights Council
By Aziz Choudry

The New Zealand government has followed up its negative vote on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with a shameful assault on the rights of indigenous activists - an extraordinary virtuoso performance by a regime campaigning for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

Australian government consistent in opposing indigenous rights
By Stephen de Tarczynski

Australia's negative vote on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is consistent with the John Howard government's record in office of winding back and diminishing substantive indigenous rights in law.

Canada's media campaign against the Declaration and indigenous peoples' rights
By First Peoples Human Rights Coalition

Canada, the only member of the UN Human Rights Council to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has sought to justify its vote by a campaign of disinformation. An indigenous activist group exposes some of the lies about the Declaration.

Indigenous peoples' rights and the international regime on access and benefit-sharing
By Joji Carino

Although the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) sets out a framework for benefit-sharing of genetic resources, and although it recognises some of the rights of indigenous and local communities, the fact remains that the CBD was not designed to be a forum for the elaboration of rights of indigenous peoples. That void in the international system has now been filled with the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which spells out such rights in a comprehensive manner and thus provides substance and meaning to the provisions of the CBD for indigenous peoples.

ECOLOGY

The Mekong:  Mainstream dams threaten the mother of all rivers
By Shannon Lawrence & Carl Middleton

The mighty Mekong, the free-flowing, life-giving river that sustains millions in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, is in danger of being transformed into a choked and industrialised waterway. Shannon Lawrence and Carl Middleton explain the threat.

ECONOMICS

Bad business
By Roberto Bissio

The World Bank's new report, Doing Business 2008, is avowedly designed to inspire governments 'to reform'.  Roberto Bissio considers the nature of the reforms the Bank has in mind.

The Bank of the South
By Stephen Lendman

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's brainchild, the Bank of the South - an alternative to the neo-liberal financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF - will be officially launched in Caracas on 5 December with seven founding Latin American member states. Stephen Lendman explains its significance.

WORLD AFFAIRS

Cuba: A nationwide debate on the road ahead
By Tom Fawthrop

A nationwide debate has been launched by Raul Castro to involve all citizens in the process of fixing the Cuban economy and ensuring the survival of the revolution.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Global hunger still on the rise, says UN rights expert
By Kanaga Raja

Global levels of hunger continue to rise, with the number of people suffering from hunger increasing to 854 million people and having risen every year since 1996, Jean Ziegler, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, has declared in a recent report presented to the UN General Assembly.

WOMEN

The plight of Iraqi women: The epitome of American arrogance
By Lucinda Marshall

Nothing better exemplifies the arrogance of the US than its complete disregard of the horrors inflicted on the Iraqi people, particularly women and children, by its invasion of that country.

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