New York, 24 April 2017. As part of the 16th session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, Ambassador Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal, expressed today that ten years after the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and despite the goals achieved, many indigenous communities around the world still face situations of violence, racism, marginalization, major economic and social disadvantages, extreme poverty and plunder of their lands.
Within her statement, she reiterated Cuba’s support to the right of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to defend and protect coca leave chewing as a tradition of their indigenous communities.
She supported actions aimed at harmonizing policies for the conservation of protected areas with respect for the ancestral values of indigenous peoples.
Likewise, she defended the right of indigenous peoples to fully enjoy their traditional and millennial rights and to preserve their own institutions, cultures and spiritual traditions without discrimination
The diplomat concluded by reaffirming its strong support for the just claims of indigenous peoples and urged the international community to promote and implement policies for allow their full implementation. (Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations)