On 13th of September the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly approved The Declaration on the Rights of Native peoples. The declaration covers wide range of human rights and freedom relating to indigenous peoples including their rights to preservation and development of their cultural originality and special identity. It touches upon rights to education and participation in political, economic and social life of society where indigenous peoples live.
The document urges to nations to guarantee effective mechanisms of prevention of any action aimed to deprive indigenous peoples of their lands, territories or natural resources or to their resettlement.
There are more than 80 small native groups living in Russia. Industrial territorial expansion to traditional settling of indigenous peoples, considerable reduction of areas suitable for traditional business keeping, maladjustment of these peoples to new market relations have brought to violation of their natural environment habitation. During last decades the state has been paying extremely insufficient attention to small indigenous peoples. As a result original way of life of these peoples, their culture suffers deformation even their survival is under serious threat.
Russia which keeps talking about protection of indigenous peoples’ rights all the time during the latest General Assembly found itself among 15 counties which did not support the declaration on the rights of native peoples, thereby Russia has showed its true attitude to the solution of the problems of small indigenous groups for oil and gas climate’ sake.
In this connection we demand from official powers of the country to support the declaration on the rights of native peoples and to start the process of bringing Russian legislation into accordance with international regulations and law standards.