Indigenous Peoples Protest UNFCCC
Indigenous Peoples shut out of Climate Change Negotiations

Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia- Indigenous peoples representing regions
from around the world protested outside the climate negotiations today
wearing symbolic gags that read UNFCCC, the acronym of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, symbolizing their
systematic exclusion from the UN meeting.

Yesterday a delegation of indigenous peoples was forcibly barred from
entering the meeting between UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer
and civil society representatives, despite the fact that the
indigenous delegation was invited to attend. This act is
representative of the systematic exclusion of indigenous peoples in
the UNFCCC process.

"There is no seat or name plate for indigenous peoples in the
plenary, nor for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues, the highest level body in the United Nations that addresses
indigenous peoples rights," stated Hubertus Samangun, the Focal
Point of the Indigenous Peoples delegation to the UNFCCC and the Focal
Point for English Speaking Indigenous Peoples of the Global Forest
Coalition.

"Indigenous peoples are not only marginalized from the discussion,
but there is virtually no mention of indigenous peoples in the more
that 5 million words of UNFCCC documents," argued Alfred Ilenre of
the Edo People of Nigeria.

This is occurring despite the fact that indigenous peoples are
suffering the most from climate change and climate change mitigation
projects that directly impact their lands.

Indigenous peoples are here in Bali to denounce the false solutions to
climate change proposed by the United Nations such as carbon trading,
agrofuels and so-called "avoided deforestation" that devastate
their lands and cause human rights violations.

"This process has become nothing but developed countries avoiding
their responsibilities to cut emissions and pushing the responsibility
onto developing countries," stated Fiu Mata'ese Elisara-Laula, of
the O Le Siosiomaga Society of Samoa. "Projects like REDD
(Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing countries) sound
very nice but they are trashing our indigenous lands. People are
being relocated and even killed; my own people will soon be under
water. That's why I call the money from the projects blood
money," he added.

Marcial Arias of the Kuna People of Panama reminded the international
community that indigenous peoples' right to participate was recognized
in the Earth Summit in 1992 and reaffirmed this year. "On September
13th of this year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [1] which enshrines
the fundamental human rights of indigenous peoples to their lands,
territories and environment. It is precisely these rights recognized
by the UN itself that the UNFCCC is violating," he
explained.