By Monica Willard, URI UN Representative
This year, on April 22nd, I attended an Interactive Dialogue of the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly on 'Harmony with Nature' to commemorate Mother Earth Day. The purpose of the interactive dialogue is to advance discussions on different economic approaches, in the context of sustainable development, and to further a more ethical basis for the relationship between humanity and the Earth. Learn more.
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was held in New York on May 20-31st. Many URI CC members took part in presentations and dialogues. Twelve year old Ta'Kaiya Blaney of the Sliamonn First Nation of BC Canada, who presented at Rio +20, spoke representing Indigenous Youth, alongside Elder Chief Oren Lyons on a panel entitled: Celebrating and Commemorating the Rights of Mother Earth for the Seventh Generation: sharing our vision of the past, present and future generations. The panelists addressed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth.
