EC reaffirms to work for indigenous people

---

European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner has reaffirmed the Commission's unwavering commitment to support indigenous people all over the world, including Bangladesh, reports UNB.
"Climate change poses a particular threat to populations whose relationship to the earth and natural elements is such an integral part of their identity," said Benita in a message today on the eve of International Day of the World's Indigenous People.
She also paid tribute to the enormous diversity and cultural wealth of indigenous people in all parts of the world. "Rising sea levels, disappearing glaciers and the desertification of once resource rich and fertile areas threaten their very survival."
The European Commission is in the forefront of international efforts to tackle the challenge of adaptation through more responsible energy use, through improving education and awareness, and through promoting global commitments to halt climate change.
In pursuing this course, the Commissioner underlined the need for honouring the commitments to protect natural ecosystems such as rainforests and the traditional population of these habitats, particularly their food security and traditions.
The Commissioner recalls that a key demand in the 2003 Declaration of the Global Forum for Indigenous Peoples was the rapid adoption of UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People.
Ferrero-Waldner says, "I hope the remaining obstacles to this process will soon be removed so that we can celebrate its adoption by the UN General Assembly in the near future."
In Bangladesh, the European Commission's commitment to the rights of indigenous people is demonstrated by the allocation of substantial resources (23.5 million Euros until 2009) to promote development and confidence building in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in cooperation with UNDP and the government.
The European Commission also co-funds two smaller projects of Caritas Bangladesh, aimed at supporting integration and skills development of indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and along the coastal belt.