OREANDA-NEWS. April 02, 2013. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Sakhalin Energy investment Company Ltd. presented a translation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into the Uilta Language to the public.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN General assembly on 13 September 2007. It covers a wide range of human rights and fundamental freedoms that apply to indigenous peoples, including the right to maintain and develop their cultural diversity and their specific identities, as well as the right to own, use and develop the lands and resources that they have traditionally used or owned.

The translation was done by Elena Bibikova and Irina Fedyayeva with financial support from Sakhalin Energy.

“Respect for and observance of human rights is one of the key principles for our company”, says Roman Dashkov, Sakhalin Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. “We strive for the sustainable development of Sakhalin Island that is impossible without preserving the culture and traditions of its first inhabitants, the indigenous peoples of the North; therefore, not only have we developed and implemented a special plan to support and develop the island’s indigenous peoples, but we are also engaged in the preservation of their languages. I hope the Uilta-language translation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will serve this purpose.”

Mr. Rachid Alouach, National Human Rights Officer, Office of Senior Human Rights Adviser to the UN Country Team in Russian Federation, which represents the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, reminded that protection of the rights of indigenous people is one of the United Nations priorities. In the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples it is indicated that Indigenous peoples have the right for decent living, the right for preservation and strengthening of their institutes, culture and traditions, and also that they have the right to develop in their own way which complies with their needs and aspirations. The translation of the Declaration into indigenous peoples’ languages will undoubtedly promote this, and we are grateful to the “Sakhalin Energy” company for this initiative.

The translation was presented to the public at the VIIth Congress of Indigenous Peoples of the Russian North, Siberia and the Russian Far East in the city of Salekhard. The Congress united 370 delegates from 47 Russian regions, including federal and regional government officials, representatives of international organisations and embassies of Arctic countries, Russian and international experts on the issues related to indigenous peoples.

According to the UN, there are approximately 370 million indigenous people in the world. They live on 20% of the world’s land and represent up to 5,000 distinct cultural identities. Even though they constitute a relative minority of the world’s population, they contribute the most to its cultural diversity.