Distinguished Authorities of the Government of Brazil
Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Representatives of Governments and of the Indigenous Peoples
Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are gathered here today in the sacred land of Brazil, which Mother Nature has blessed with such an abundance of plants, trees, rivers, waters, mountains, fruits, and other resources, fresh air and oxygen, that it is rightly known as the lungs of the Earth. We are therefore especially grateful to all the authorities and people of Brazil, and to the indigenous peoples, for having granted us permission to hold this Seventh Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus regarding the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The fact that this meeting is being held in Brazilian territory is of great significance for the indigenous peoples and society as a whole, because it expresses profound recognition of the importance of the subject in itself and, in particular, of the Draft Declaration we are working on today, and, above all, because this beautiful country is home to multiple cultures and the most varied manifestations of indigenous and social forms of society.

Most of the countries of America consist of a mosaic of peoples and societies, which enables and encourages States to forge multicultural policies and actions to restore the rights and aspirations of the indigenous peoples that were excluded when today’s States were founded. Most importantly, these efforts are building on the principles of justice, full respect for diversity, and the quest for fairness vis-à-vis the other groups and indigenous peoples that make up those States.

It is tremendously important to appreciate the initiatives by legislative, executive, and judicial bodies, as well as the actions undertaken by national and international bodies, including the OAS, to achieve recognition of and full respect for the rights of the indigenous peoples, because if we take a look at what is happening in each State, we see major progress being made, day after day. We perceive that the struggle of the peoples is not in vain, but accepted and understood by all those who govern and shape the destinies of our countries.

This is the hope underpinning the drafting of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It entails not just fully grasping the importance and usefulness of that instrument, as a tool for recognition of and full respect for the rights of a segment of society as important as the indigenous peoples. It also contributes massively to the exercise of democracy, good governance, and the forging of more just and socially and economically more equitable States, without which democracy would continue to be incomplete.

Much has been said and written to denounce the existence of discrimination and racism, as well as extreme poverty, marginalization, misappropriation, and disrespect of the rights of the indigenous peoples, but as our forefathers and elders said in the past, the time has come to correct our petty shortcomings and involuntary oversights and to seek a solution to those problems. The way to overcome them is to transform, amend, or create new laws and mechanisms and to establish institutions that allow the indigenous peoples to be what they are, fully, with respect for their identity, history, specific characteristics, and individual and collective rights.

All of us realize that the path ahead is long, difficult, and thorny, because most of our societies and our governmental and nongovernmental institutions are still accustomed to a short-sighted paternalism, to actions shaped by the subordination, subjugation, and ideological and political colonization of the indigenous peoples. We sometimes still find it difficult to believe that those peoples are capable of doing, acting, and thinking in and for themselves, and yet we are beginning to be more open-minded and moving toward a deeper understanding that the indigenous peoples are entitled to be themselves, like the others, and to form a complementary part of multicultural and multilingual societies.

This is the challenge we once again take up at the Seventh Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus regarding the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We must continue to develop with considerable foresight and vision an instrument that enables us to create the socially, politically, and juridically just conditions needed to allow today’s forsaken peoples to enjoy the same dignity as the others.

Finally, I wish to underscore the importance of thanking the people and Government of Brazil from the bottom of our hearts, above all for their willingness and determination to allow the dream of the indigenous peoples to be constructed and created in this beautiful country.

Thank you very much.