b. Indigenous Peoples
The World Conference on Human Rights (June 1993) and the International Decade for the World’s Indigenous People (1995 – 2004) proclaimed by the General Assembly a year later set three major objectives for the promotion of the human rights of indigenous peoples. The first is to adopt a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples; the second to create an institutional mecha- nism for the participation of indigenous peoples in the work of the United Nations by establishing a permanent forum for indigenous peoples; and the third to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in areas such as human rights, the environment, development, education and health. In the context of the International Dec- ade, current activities are as follows:
• The draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples is under consid- eration by a working group of the Commission on Human Rights. Several hundred governmental and indigenous representatives are taking part.
• The proposed permanent forum for indigenous peoples within the United Nations is under consideration by another working group of the Commis- sion on Human Rights.
• The International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People is coordi- nated by the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The theme is “Indigenous people: partnership in action”. The challenge to Govern- ments, the United Nations system and non-governmental actors is to develop programmes to bring about improvements in the living condi-