WACC: Statement on International Day of the World's Indigenous People

> Indigenous people worldwide are forging new
> agendas with the help of communication

On the International Day of Indigenous People, the World Association
for Christian Communication (WACC) celebrates the advances made to
date by Indigenous Peoples everywhere and calls for widespread
recognition of Indigenous Peoples' communication rights in order to
improve the lives of indigenous people in every corner of the globe.

> Full statement....

Half way through the second International Decade of the World's
Indigenous Peoples, launched in 2004 by United Nations' General
Assembly, there have been significant gains among the Indigenous
peoples of the world.

In regions such as Latin America, indigenous peoples are creating
national and regional alliances and in some countries, such as
Bolivia, they have an increased presence in the setting of national
agendas as well as in public life.

In Asia, new broadcasting legislation in Bangladesh allowing the
existence of community radio stations has translated into indigenous
people using new technologies to implement their right to
communication and information.

And yet much remains to be done. This is particularly true in relation
to indigenous women, who have faced centuries of discrimination,
marginalization and human rights abuses. Despite the advances of the
last fifteen years, indigenous women still face high levels of poverty
and violence, lack of access to education, economic opportunities,
land and natural resources, poor or non-existent health services, etc.

In the struggle to be heard, "Sometimes being present does not mean
taking part," said Melania Canales Poma, regional coordinator for
the Andean and Amazon Women's Organization of Peru. She added that
participating means "saying what one thinks, what one feels, and
that is a fundamental part that we're still missing." Her plea
points squarely to the need to establish mechanisms that guarantee
indigenous women's right to communicate.

This was the same sentiment expressed by Sanjeeb Drong of
Bangladesh's Adivasi Forum in his address to the third meeting of
the UN's Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People (EMRIP)
held in Geneva in July 2010. He quoted Article 16 of the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which states that
â??indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in
their own languages and to have access to all forms of non-indigenous
media without discrimination."

Mr Drong added that, "States have the main responsibility to take
effective measures for promoting indigenous media and to ensure that
State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. Media
can play a vital role in promoting and implementing the UN Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at country level."

On the International Day of Indigenous People, the World Association
for Christian Communication (WACC) celebrates the advances made to
date by Indigenous Peoples everywhere and calls for widespread
recognition of Indigenous Peoples' communication rights in order to
improve the lives of indigenous people in every corner of the globe.

For further information please contact: TA@waccglobal.org

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