Tell the UN to Support Indigenous Rights!

Twenty-five years of tireless work for Indigenous rights is about to come down to one vote. Today, you can take a stand for the rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world. The UN General Assembly is about to vote on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. This Declaration, if it passes, would provide rights and respect for Indigenous peoples' lands, languages, and cultural and spiritual survival. There are 370 million Indigenous peoples around the world who belong to 5,000 groups across 71 countries. They live in some of the most biodiverse and pristine ecosystems on the planet, such as the Amazon rainforest and Canada's boreal forest. RAN allies, Indigenous leaders and government representatives from around the world have been working to get this declaration passed for more than 25 years. Unfortunately, opposition led by Canada, New Zealand and Australia, is threatening to kill the Declaration. These countries are trying to convince other member countries, like Indonesia and Kenya, to oppose the resolution. If they don't support it, the Declaration won't pass. Today you can take action and make a difference. Write to the Ambassadors of Canada, New Zealand and Australia and tell them to support Indigenous rights! RAN strongly supports the rights of Indigenous peoples, and I hope I can count on you to send a message and help pass this UN Declaration. From brutal logging in Canada to the expansion of factory farms in tropical rainforests, so much environmental destruction directly affects Indigenous communities. In the Amazon alone, there are 200,000 indigenous people whose traditional territories are being threatened by large-scale agribusiness, mining, oil, dams and illegal logging. In Indonesia, palm oil plantations threaten the traditional territories of 1.4 million Dayak Indigenous people. They are counting on our support to preserve their rights and traditional territories. Please take a minute right now and join me in standing up for Indigenous rights. Your voice can make change happen. Thank you, Leila Salazar-Lopez Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign Rainforest Action Network http://www.ran.org		Take Action Now! Tell UN Ambassadors to Support Indigenous Rights! RAN Action Updates: - Mountaintop Removal: Last week RAN Rapid Responders challenged the Bush administration's proposed expansion of mountaintop removal coal mining by sending hundreds of letters to the editor to newspapers all across the U.S. You can help by sending your own letter now! - Grand & Toy: RAN activists hit the streets protesting in front of a Grand & Toy outlet following up on the thousands of phone calls RAN supporters made to the Canadian retailer last week demanding support for the Grassy Narrows community. RAN Old Growth campaign director Brant Olson has the details on our blog.