Sunday, 8 August 2010
Recognition and participation must be priority for Australia’s Indigenous people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, has called on Australian legislators and policy makers to mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples tomorrow, (Monday 9 August), by making a commitment to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Commissioner Gooda said if fully implemented, the Declaration could forge major inroads towards improving relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, between governments and Indigenous communities, and within Indigenous communities themselves.
“However, to be of real value it will be necessary for the commitment to be followed by actual implementation. It must become the overarching framework that underpins all policy and legislative development concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” Commissioner Gooda said.
“We need all levels of government to embed the Declaration’s intentions in every policy and law impacting on Indigenous peoples and to ensure that together we overcome the pressing challenges, such as access to, and the co-ordination of services to, Indigenous people in urban, regional and remote settings.”
Commissioner Gooda said International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which was proclaimed by UN General Assembly resolution of 20 December 2004, provided an opportunity for nations around the world to further strengthen international cooperation around challenges faced by indigenous people in areas such as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment, and social and economic development.
“The right to self-determination and to participate in decision-making must be based on the principle of free, prior, and informed consent and a duty to consult. These are the bedrocks upon which a society that values and respects Indigenous peoples should be built,” he said.
“The full implementation of the Declaration would go a long way towards guaranteeing our full, free and effective participation in all aspects of public life.
“International Day of the World’s Indigenous peoples is the perfect time for us to put the Declaration into practice.
“I believe it is now time for us as a nation to come together as a community to preserve, protect and promote the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to celebrate the invaluable contribution we make – and the role we can play – in Australian society.”
Media contact: Louise McDermott (02) 9284 951 or 0419 258 597
