From: IEN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For Immediate Release February 8, 2005
NOTICE TO THE PRESS U.S. Reception Boycotted by Indigenous Delegates in Negotiations at the Organization of American States (OAS) on a Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples On the evening of February 7th, the U.S. Mission to the OAS invited participants in the negotiations of the Draft American Declaration to attend a reception at the Smithsonian�s National Museum of the American Indian. Delegates of Indigenous peoples boycotted the reception to send a message to the U.S. government: Dishonorable negotiations will not be tolerated. This week marks the Fifth Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus of the OAS Working Group to Elaborate the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Hector Huertas, President of the Indigenous Caucus, stated that, �We cannot accept an invitation to be honoured in the halls of the National Museum of the American Indian when the U.S. and Canada have shown us a complete lack of honour and respect during the negotiations of the OAS Draft Declaration. These two States are putting forth positions that do not recognize the fundamental human rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Indigenous representatives and many other States attend these sessions in good faith with a view to reaching consensus, yet the destructive positions of the U.S. and a minority of others, block this objective.� In the U.S. Department of States� press release of February 3rd, the reception was said to �underscore U.S. Government support for the rights of indigenous peoples and its strong backing for an OAS declaration on these rights.� �This characterization is wholly inaccurate,� said Hector Huertas, �That is why we did not attend.� For more information, please contact: Beverley Jacobs at 1-613-878-6922 (English speaking) Hector Huertas at 1-507-684-5531 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Spanish speaking) Armand McKenzie at 1-418-965-1765 (French speaking) This message scanned for viruses by <http://www.core.com/>CoreComm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/5F6XtA/.WnJAA/E2hLAA/1dTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nat-International/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
