Despite representation from nearly 500 aboriginal groups worldwide, the Forum is not empowered to enact laws; it can only advise the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a 54-member U.N. body, whose members are elected by the General Assembly every three years.

We welcome with special satisfaction the motion adopted by the Canadian House of Commons on 8 April 2008, regarding the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and relating to the call for Parliament and Government to «fully implement the standards contained therein». The Legislature’s commitment to put the provisions of the UN Declaration into practice is a powerful sign for indigenous peoples in Canada and in other countries.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights has welcomed the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, as a triumph for justice and human dignity following more than two decades of negotiations between governments and indigenous peoples’ representatives.

The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations marks a momentous and historic occasion for both Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations.

A proposed jumbo pipeline that will cut through preserved, unseeded Lubicon territory in the North of ALBERTA will not only carry natural gas from Mackenzie Valley to the oil sands developments in the east, it will also violate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.