November 17, 2006 - by Joseph Quesnel — Canadian representatives at the United Nations are attempting to bribe African member states in order to buy their support for a motion to delay final passage of the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights at the General Assembly in New York, alleged the chief of a prominent Manitoba Aboriginal organization.

“We heard of this at a recent international treaties summit. It is unsubstantiated,” said Grand Chief Chris Henderson of the Southern Chiefs Organization, at a press conference held in the group’s Winnipeg office.

Henderson went on to elaborate saying he was informed that …

Steven Edwards, CanWest News Service - NEW YORK - Canada has drawn an avalanche of criticism from countries with some of the worst human rights records after speaking out against them at the United Nations.

Of 13 countries whose records Canada highlighted at a human rights meeting, Iran, Cuba, Sudan and Uzbekistan lashed out, variously accusing Canada of mistreating its First Nations population, serving as a puppet of the United States, and generally getting all its facts wrong.

After Iran additionally pledged to ask the UN General Assembly to look into the plight of Canada’s indigenous people and immigrants, Canada hit back, …

The Green Party today expressed its extreme disappointment at the Government’s negative response to the UN draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, which was recently passed by a two thirds majority of member countries on the UN Human Rights Council.

“Indigenous peoples from around the world have been negotiating this document for over a decade, in a process that began in 1985. They have repeatedly made concessions to the views of states such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States, yet those governments have continued to push their own integrationist agenda,” Green Party Maori Affairs Spokesperson Metiria …

By Nick Puhjera, Times Staff — Delegates from around the world will converge on Hobbema, spotlighting the plight of aboriginal people.

The event marks the first time the United Nations is holding a meeting on First Nations territory and comes as good news to former Wetaskiwin MP Willie Littlechild, a member of the UN permanent forum on indigenous issues.

“Canada should be leading the way (in terms of treaties). We’re going to put our heads together,” he said.

The theme of the meeting is best practices — practical strategies and practices for the implementation of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements …

San Francisco, CA. July 19, 2006: A United Nations Committee of Human Rights Experts today ended their questioning of representatives of the United States regarding the United States required periodic report, submitted to the UN on November 28, 2005. They were asked to respond to written questions relating to United States’ implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the US in 1992. The Committee on Human Rights, that monitors compliance with human rights obligations under the Covenant raised questions pertaining to land rights of Native Americans and the use …

MNN. July 3, 2006. There is something to be learned from the time before the Five Nations Rotino’shon:ni/ Iroquois Confederacy of Northeastern Turtle Island came into existence. There was an evil man whose head was full of serpents like Medusa. He was called the “Atotarho”. Each one of these serpents had a head which wreaked havoc, domination, disorder, control and death. In order to bring about the Great Peace, Dekanawida and Ayonwatha had to comb the serpents out of his hair. That was how that man became clean-headed and clean-minded. Later, he …

MNN. July 4, 2006. Who do they think they’re kidding? This is a rip-off of Indigenous people! Nothing less is acceptable to us Rotino’shon:ni/Iroquois than full acceptance into the UN as a nation equal to all the others. Otherwise, it’s just a lot of “hot air” to stop us from getting in. We are still under forced “colonial rule”.

Who do we complain to when the UN violates us? We know we are being set up to be undermined even more. The UN is controlled by the multinational corporations. It looks like …

Republished from Y-Net News.

With 29 countries in favor, 12 opposed, Arab countries pass decision that Council inspectors will prepare special report on human rights violations committed by Israel.

The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday accepted a resolution according to which human rights violations committed by Israel in the territories will be discussed on a permanent basis in all of the Councils meetings.

Israels Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Yitzhak Levanon told Ynet in response: I am very sorry that the Arab group took us back to the dark ages of the committee which passed away due to such behavior.

Levanon …

29 June 2006 UN Press release. Extends Mandate of Working Group on Drafting Optional Protocol to International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Human Rights Council this afternoon adopted by consensus the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and recommended that the General Assembly adopt the treaty.

The Council also adopted by a roll-call vote of 30 in favour to 2 against and 12 abstentions a resolution on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Council adopted the declaration as proposed by the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group of the Commission on Human …

The Indian Council of South America to the new UN Human Rights Council hopes that the change serves to better defend those rights as well as social and historic justice for all peoples.

That is what CISA hopes, because attempts are being made to invalidate the process launched by the representatives of the invaded peoples of the Americas and Oceania who did not benefit from the decolonisation that took place on other continents. In 1977, those representatives sought to have the United Nations recognize them as peoples and original nations with a right to self-determination, to land, territory, natural resources and …