Environmental and Aboriginal groups yesterday said they would propose the establishment of an Aboriginal network at an upcoming congress in Senegal, with the aim of uniting global support for Aboriginal people on environmental issues.
“We hope to highlight issues such as the disposal of nuclear waste on Aboriginal land at the Global Greens Congress,” said Chiu Hsin-hui (邱馨慧), an official of the Green Party Taiwan, which drafted the proposal.
The congress, to be held from Thursday to Sunday next week in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, will focus on global warming, clean energy, biodiversity and democratic development in African nations and other countries.
In 2008, more than 800 people from over 80 countries participated in the congress, which is held every four years.
The party said the purpose of the network would be to give voice to the global Aboriginal community and urged countries to sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and apply it to their national laws.
Aborigines are often impacted by global warming, water shortages and declines in biodiversity caused by activities such as mining, deforestation, dam construction and nuclear waste storage, the party said in the proposal.
It mentioned the Tao, who live on the outlying island of Lanyu (蘭嶼, also known as Orchid Island), as well as Aboriginal tribes in the US and Australia, as examples of indigenous people becoming victims of nuclear waste disposal on their traditional lands.
“Although we have long been concerned about Aboriginal issues, we have been limited in our capacity,” Indigenous Peoples Action Coalition of Taiwan secretary-general Omi Wilang said.
He said that the relocation of Aborigines from their homelands and the impact of development projects on their lives are not unique to Taiwan, but are common problems faced by Aborigines around the world.
“The network would allow Aboriginal people around the world to voice support for each other,” he said.
The Taiwanese representatives to the congress will also draw attention to land justice and biodiversity, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, violence and human rights issues in Syria and Tibet, clean technology and the Occupy movements around the world.
“Taiwan is a critical player and stakeholder in the world,” said Keli Yen (顏克莉), another Green Party Taiwan official.
She said Taiwan’s democracy and human rights, and its management of biodiversity, can serve as models for other countries.
“Green parties in other countries are looking to Taiwan to set the standards of governance,” Yen said.
She added that Taiwan has a big responsibility to exert its influence in the areas of human rights and environmental justice.
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