UN Observes International Indigenous Peoples Day

Program Master of Ceremonies Roberto Borrero (Taino) and UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro at the 2009 Observance of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. (UN Photo)

United Nations (UCTP Taíno News) – An official observance commemorating the United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples was held at UN headquarters in New York on Monday. The event was organized by the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, in cooperation with the NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The theme of the observance at UN Headquarters was "Indigenous Peoples and HIV/AIDS".

The event included messages from the United Nations Secretary-General, the President of the UN General Assembly, the Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, and the Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. There were also performances by indigenous artists, and a panel discussion on "Indigenous Peoples and HIV/AIDS".

In his message to mark the day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized the vulnerability of indigenous peoples to HIV/ AIDS. “It is essential that indigenous peoples have access to the information and infrastructure necessary for detection, treatment and protection,” he noted.

Other observances for the UN Indigenous Day were held around the world with events celebrated in Suriname, Brazil, Northeast India, Nepal, and Geneva among others.

UCTPTN 08.11.2009

Suriname Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day

Paramaribo, Suriname (UCTP Taíno News) – The United Nations International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples was celebrated in Paramaribo, Suriname on 9 August 2009. Suriname officially adopted the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples as a national holiday for the first time in 2007.

Photo: During a “Tamusji” ceremony held to commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day in Suriname, a local Carib spiritual leader blesses a young participant by pouring herbal water upon his head. (Photo credit: nachophoto.com)

UCTPTN 08.09.2009

Kalinago Carib Elect New Chief in Dominica

Waitukubuli/Dominica (UCTP Taino News) - Elections were held in July in the Carib territory of Dominica, West Indies to choose a Chief for a new 5-year term of office. Former Chief Garnet Joseph won the election over incumbent Charles Williams.

Joseph said his work focus will include health, education and respect for council members in the Territory. The new chief has also pledged to bring more development to the 3,800-acre (1,538-hectare) territory, where Caribs live in greater poverty than the rest of the country. Dominica is home to about 3,000 Caribs, or ethnic Kalinagos.

UCTPTN 08.07.2009

Hugo Chavez in Dominica to unveil $35M facility

ROSEAU, Dominica -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez unveiled a $35 million oil-storage facility Saturday in the Caribbean island of Dominica, a day after he met with regional leaders about his Petrocaribe program.

Chavez said the complex that Venezuela helped build will store 35,000 barrels of diesel, jet fuel and cooking gas.

The Petrocaribe program, which Dominica participates in, was created in 2005 to supply fuel to allies under preferential terms.

"Dominica will no longer have to concern itself about the supply of gasoline and oil,'' he told a cheering crowd. "All the oil Dominica will need for the next 200 years will be right there in Venezuela.''

People wearing red T-shirts in support of Chavez lined the streets for about two miles (three kilometers) as he made his way from the airport to the facility.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit promised to supply free cooking gas to poor people, but he did not provide details.

The storage complex is located near the capital of Roseau and is named ''Waitukubuli,'' the Carib Indian name for Dominica.

Chavez said he also will help fund a coffee-processing plant in the tiny Caribbean island and set up a local branch of a leftist Latin American trade group.

Source: Associated Press