Indigenous Human Rights Issues Raised at 1993 International Conference

In remarks to the Rights and Humanity Roundtable held in Amman, Jordan, ITC president Rosemarie Kuptana called for the United Nations to allow indigenous peoples direct and equal participation in the development of international human rights principles and standards.

The roundtable, hosted by the Crown Prince of Jordan Hassan bin Talal, was held ahead of the June 14-25 World Conference on Human Rights scheduled to be held in Vienna, Austria.

Referring to the international community Kuptana said that indigenous peoples should “finally be recognized as part of the human family and consistent with the principle of universality of human rights, have recognized our status as peoples and our right to self-determination”

Kuptana also suggested that the UN make a permanent commitment to indigenous issues within its own institutional structure.