Welcome to the United Nations
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2009
9 August 2009, United Nations Headquarters, New York
The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples was observed at UN Headquarters on 10 August 2009.
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PROGRAMME
Monday 10 August, 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Conference Room 4, UN Headquarters
14:00 Welcome message
By master of ceremonies, Roberto Mucaro Borrero, chairperson of the NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
14:05 – 14:25 Messages on the occasion of the Day
14:30 Cultural Event
Crimean Tatar Dance Ensemble
14:50 – 16:30 Panel discussion on Indigenous Peoples and HIV/AIDS
The panel will be moderated by Tonya Gonella Frichner, Member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Panelists:
Bertil Lindblad, Director, UNAIDS New York Office.
Kent Lebsock, Owe Aku - Bring Back the Way - a Traditional Lakota (Sioux) Cultural Preservation Organization
Chris Archibald Director, Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division of the Public Health Agency of Canada
Olivia Sloan, (Navajo/ Tohono O'odham)
Special Liaison, Partnerships, Programs and Policy,
Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The panel will be moderated by Tonya Gonella Frichner, Member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
History
In 1994, the General Assembly decided that the International Day of the World's Indigenous People shall be observed on 9 August every year during the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (Resolution 49/214 of 23 December). The date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
The UN General Assembly had proclaimed 1993 the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, and the same year, the Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, starting on 10 December 1994 (Resolution 48/163). The goal of the First Decade was to strengthen international cooperation for solving problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education and health.
In 2004, the UN General Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples through Resolution 59/174. The goal of the Second Decade is to further the "strengthening of international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment, and social and economic development, by means of action-oriented programs and specific projects, increase technical assistance, and relevant standard-setting activities".
Messages of the Day
Message of the Secretary General [AR] [EN] [ES] [FR] [RU] [ZH]
Message of the President of the United Nations General Assembly [EN] [ES]
Message of the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Message of the Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Message from the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Opinion Piece from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Statement by the Executive Director of UNICEF