UN Committee Stalls Indigenous Rights Declaration

UN Committee Stalls Indigenous Rights Declaration

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 15:22

A United Nations committee has passed a motion to delay consideration of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Officials at the Assembly of First Nations say they are outraged over the move.

They say this no-action motion was engineered through the political maneuvering of the African Union, aided by Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Members of the UN’s Indigenous Caucus say the world body has affirmed that Indigenous peoples are not equal to other peoples.

AFN delegates are meeting with other Indigenous groups in New York to discuss the implications of the vote and possible next steps.