According to 2009 Australian of the Year, Professor Mick Dodson, the Rudd Government would reverse the position of the previous Howard administration to sign the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
After the Formal Apology to the Stolen Generations, the Federal Government has committed to establish and implement policies to reduce the gap between non-indigenous Australians and indigenous Australians.
In September 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration has been negotiated through more than 20 years between nation states and indigenous peoples. 143 nations voted in favour of the Declaration and only 4 negative votes were cast (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States).
When the Declaration was adopted, Les Malezer, Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, welcomed the adoption of the Declaration in a statement to General Assembly:
“The Declaration does not represent solely the viewpoint of the United Nations, nor does it represent solely the view of the indigenous peoples. It is a declaration which combines our views and interests which sets the framework for the future. It is a tool for peace and justice, based upon mutual recognition and respect.”
The Federal Government is set to endorse the Declaration at the next meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum in May. The Federal Government issued a statement that it supported the Declaration’s underlying principles and at this stage was “consulting with indigenous organisations, State and Territory governments, and other key stakeholders on an appropriate public statement to reflect this.”
Rev Dr Gordon Moyes has welcomed the Federal Government’s intention to sign and adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Dr Moyes said, “The time is now for Australia to recognise the human rights of our indigenous peoples in customary international law.”
Dr Moyes highlighted the problem: “In New South Wales, Aboriginal school children suffer from poor school engagement and poor school outcomes. The numeracy and literacy skills of Aboriginal primary school children are below minimum standards. The low representation of indigenous students in tertiary education is alarming. It is up to policy makers, legislators, NGOs and the whole community to ensure and commit to closing the education gap of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children by 26 January 2010."
He continued: “The overrepresentation of indigenous offenders in the prison population and the increased number of Aboriginal deaths in custody highlights that more needs to be done to reduce the social, economic and political inequality that our Indigenous people face.”
Rev Moyes also supported the move by Reconciliation Australia which launched a confronting advertising campaign this week to challenge people’s prejudices about Indigenous Australians.
Dr Moyes said, “While recognising the problems, we also need to hear more positive stories of contribution by Indigenous Australians in our local community, academia, law, science, business, and politics. Often the successful stories are unnoticed by the media and are not rightly recognised. These ads are a positive step which challenge Australians about their negative and often misinformed views of Indigenous people.”
Society
Australia to Become Signatory to the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Friday, 13 March 2009, 9:56 (EST)
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