And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: sent by: "gazer elk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> IEN News Release: 1/27/99 Released by: Tom Goldtooth, IEN National Coordinator at Nairobi, Kenya Refer to e-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] till Friday, January 29, 1999. IEN e-mail address is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Indigenous NGO's Attend UNEP Negotiations on Toxic Pollutants Nairobi, Kenya - Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) and the Canadian-based Northern Aboriginal Peoples Coordinating Committee have been in Nairobi, Kenya participating in the second round of international negotiations on a global treaty to reduce and eliminate environmental emissions and discharges of persistent organic pollutants or POPs. These negotiations started January 25, 1999 and will continue till January 29th. IEN is part of the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) which is a network of public interest non-governmental (NGOs) united in support of the global elimination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Ninety-seven countries have gathered at United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya for the second round of negotiations of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) for an international legally binding mechanism for implementing international action on POPs. The second round of INC-2 continues till January 29. The negotiations came as a response to worldwide concern over the dangers to public health and the environment posed by POPs. An initial list of these POPs are grouped into three categories: 1) pesticides: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene; 2) industrial chemicals: hexachlorobenzene and polychlorinated biphenyl's (PCBs); and 3) unintended by-products: dioxins and furans. The UNEP Governing Council mandate calls on countries to reach an international convention on POPs by the year 2000. UNEP Deputy Executive Director, Shafqat Kakakhel expressed, "These persistent, toxic pollutants travel long distances, far from their sources to remote parts of the world," Kakakhel said. "They harm the ecological support system on which life depends. They accumulate and magnify as they move through the food chain, concentrating even in the largest animal species like polar bears and whales. No country is safe from their effects. No person is protected against their presence. POPs endanger public health and the environment around the globe, causing illness and taking lives. They pose risks to the unborn and endanger generations to come." Because of such factors, "no country, acting alone, can stem the tide," he said. The negotiations will also focus on scientific criteria and a procedure for identifying additional pollutants for possible inclusion under the treaty. IEN is following a mandate from concerns voiced by Indigenous Peoples from North America about the dangerous affects of POPs to base and subsistence cultures. Tom Goldtooth, National Coordinator of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) submitted oral intervention at INC-2 of the concerns of Indigenous Peoples. [Statement attached below] Complete coverage of POPs INC-2 available at: http://www.iisd.ca/chemical/pops2 Information on International POPs Elimination Network: http://www.psr.org/ipen.htm Information on United Nations Environmental Programme: http://www.unep.org STATEMENT OF TOM GOLDTOOTH, INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK AT THE 2ND SESSION AT THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE ON POPS January 25, 1999 On behalf of the Indigenous Environmental Network, we thank the government of Kenya, the Chair, and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Secretariat for hosting this INC2. The Indigenous Environmental Network is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the aboriginal territories of North America, otherwise known as the United States. The Indigenous Environmental Network is a member of the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN). The Indigenous Environmental Network has affiliation of over 200 Indigenous organizations, traditional societies and tribal sovereign governments from throughout United States and Canada, as well as, Indigenous associations in Mexico, Central and South America. Collectively, our affiliations comprise over � million Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas. What I want to do now, is make general remarks on the INC2 conference. During the past two years, our organization has directly consulted with approximately 1,500 Indigenous Peoples on the serious issue of the impact of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) upon our communities - our villages - our environment. We are discovering that our Indigenous Peoples from the farming villages of the south - to the villages of the Arctic north are being disproportionately impacted from POPs contamination. Our Indigenous Peoples are at higher risk to POPs exposure due to our land-based and subsistence cultures. Within the Great Lakes water basin that includes the political transboundaries of the United States and Canada, there have been marked increases in cancer, birth defects, diabetes, and immunological based disorders (e.g. allergies and asthma). Indigenous Peoples within the Great Lakes have reported residues of certain chemical contaminants in their tissue. Residues of these chemicals, such as PCBs, DDT, and dioxin are stockpiled in the blood, fat, and mothers breast milk of our Indigenous women - who are the first environment of our Peoples. POPs remain stockpiled in the sedimentation of riverbeds, on the land and bodies of our habitat, often without adequate remediation. In Sonera, Mexico, high levels of multiple pesticides were found in the cord blood of newborns and in breast milk of the Indigenous Yaqui farmers. Mr. Chair, I wish I could provide a more positive intervention, however, the state of affairs concerning POPs and its impact to Indigenous Peoples is not encouraging. In addition to the recognition of human health impacts of POPs exposure within Indigenous populations, UNEP must evaluate the cumulative impact of POPs exposures that consider socio-economic, cultural, religious and other factors. Persistent organic pollutants affects the traditional cultural and religious practices of Indigenous Peoples throughout the world. The continued production, release, and use of POPs affect our right to maintain a sustainable and subsistence way of life. POPs chemicals affects our right to fish, to hunt, and to gather within environments that are clean. In many areas of North America we do not have access to chemical free plants that we use for healing our families. We have women basketweavers that are contaminated from persistent toxic substances. This situation reflects Indigenous Peoples issues throughout the world. National and international policies that prevent Indigenous Peoples from practicing their cultural and religious rights become a religious intolerance that violates basic principles of human rights. Fundamental human rights demand the right for all people throughout the world to live in a safe and healthy environment free from disproportionate toxic burdens and discriminatory treatment. Yes, this is a life and death situation - but not only for Indigenous Peoples - but all people, all races, all nationalities and the biodiversity of the planet. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. ################################### Indigenous Environmental Network P.O. Box 485 Bemidji, MN 56619 USA Phone: (218) 751-4967 Fax: (218) 751-0561 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web site: http://www.alphacdc.com/ien ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
