Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 10, 1 October 1996 — Indigenous peoples rights draft established [ARTICLE]

Indigenous peoples rights draft established

Offīcials of the State, Interior and Justice departments met with some 200 people to discuss the United Nations Draft Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the EastWest Center this summer. Representatives from Hawai'i, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Manana Islands were given a ehanee to express their views on the U.N. Draft Declaration. Hawaiian leaders at the eonsultation said they fear the U.S. will attempt to amend the declaration to avoid Hawaiian sovereignty. The declaration calls for indigenous peoples to have the right to self determination and full and effective enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized in the Charter of the U.N., the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and International Human Rights Law. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka's office hosted the U.N. Consultation. A similar consultation was held in Washington D.C. With Alaskan Native and American Indian representatives. "We are here because current U.S. policy regarding indigenous peoples does not include us," Akaka said. "We are often left out of any decision-making process regarding indigenous rights." Akaka urged the representatives to look at the meeting as an effort to seek what is best for indigenous people.