Native Groups Ask Parties To Back UN Declaration

Native Groups Ask Parties To Back UN Declaration

Friday, September 12, 2008 at 14:34

Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the United Nations adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

To mark the anniversary, several Aboriginal organizations are urging all Canadian political parties to affirm their support for the declaration and take action to ensure it will be implemented once Parliament resumes following the election.

Canada was one of four countries that voted against the declaration — and groups such as the Assembly of First Nations, Amnesty International Canada, and the Native Women’s Association of Canada want that reversed.

The House of Commons did pass a resolution last April to endorse the declaration. The resolution also called on Parliament and the Government of Canada to fully implement it — something the then-governing Conservative Party has not supported.

The groups say since Canada’s human rights record will be examined next February by the UN Human Rights Council, endorsing the declaration would be a sign the country respects human rights of all peoples.