Media Center

Background

RESOLUTION Inter-American Week For Indigenous Peoples

CP/RES. 1094 (2144/18)
(Adopted by the Permanent Council at its regular meeting on February 21, 2018)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

RECALLING:

The Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the American Declaration on Human Rights, the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and other inter-American and international instruments;

That the American Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas establishes that progress in promoting and effectively protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Americas is a priority for the OAS;

That the Plan of Action of the American Declaration of the Rights of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2017-2021), adopted through resolution AG/RES. 2913 (XLVII-O/17), establishes that its activities are to promote and draw attention to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, furthering and encouraging different activities in the framework of the OAS and at the national level to promote their traditions, recognize the value of their languages, transmit their history, and draw attention to their contributions in different fields; and

That the United Nations General Assembly established August 9 as “International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples” and 2019 as “International Year of Indigenous Languages”;


RESOLVES:

1. To declare around the 9th of August each year as the “Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples.”

2. To urge the member states to commemorate this week with activities to promote and draw attention to the culture of indigenous peoples in order to promote their traditions, recognize the value of their languages, transmit their history, and draw attention to their contributions in different fields.
3. To call upon the General Secretariat to mark that week with activities that promote and recognize the culture, significance, and contributions of indigenous peoples to the development of societies, subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

4. To encourage the Secretariats and Offices of the General Secretariat in the member states to make all efforts to fulfill the mandates assigned to the different areas of the OAS, as provided for in the Plan of Action of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2017-2021).

Reference: S-005/18