25 Ye ears for Our Pe eoples a Cul and ltures

March 15 1986 M 5th 6-2011

To o brothe and our ers sisters, who have made ou work possible ur thro ough these years, e from whom we have m w learned and with whom h we sh hare dream and ms hope for the future. es

CHIR RAPAQ, w which for th Quechu people of Ayacuch means he ua o ho flashing of stars, o arose 25 years ago, when our coun e n ntry was di isrupted w intense internal violence with e v and many indi igenous pe eoples lost their lives. This exp t perience fo orced to us to join s with our brot h thers and sisters, th main victims of this viole he v ence, in a shared comm mitment. I was the beginning of a long journey i which w have fo It g g in we ought to defen and str nd rengthen o cultur and ide our re entity and to gain recognition of our n econ nomic, socia politica and cultu rights as persons and peop al, al ural s ples. In th last thirt years in he ty ndigenous peoples ha achiev the ILO Convent ave ved O tion 169, the U United Na ations Decl laration on the Righ of Indig n hts genous Pe eoples, The Expert e Mech hanism an the Unit Nation Perman nd ted ns nent Forum on Indig m genous Issu ues. The resul of this p lt process ob bligates nat tional governments to respect and to re ecognize the rights of indigenou peoples on the basis of an intern us s national st tandard, legislating and implemen d nting laws and polici accordi to these instrume ies ing ents and mech hanisms as part of th UN syste and sig s he em gners of the commi ese itments. How wever, in P Peru, the L Law of Ind digenous Peoples Ri P ight to Prio Consult or tation is still p pending, in spite of b n being an urgent right to guaran t ntee the life and the territory e t of o our towns in which the Stat superpo h te oses, gran nting conc cessions ri ights to trans snational c companies. . Since Peru is on of the countries co e ne ommitted to the Mill t lennium Developmen Goals nt and r reporting a advances i the erad in dication of extreme po e overty and hunger, we must d w emph hasize that the econ nomic grow of the country h not yet been refle wth has t ected in

the Andean and Amazonian sector. In these areas, more than 800 thousand indigenous children and adolescents live in conditions of poverty and extreme poverty (UNICEF, 2010), while 47% of women of the rural mountains, and 48.3% of women of the rural forests are in extreme poverty (the FAO, 2003). The task of including an approach of equitable distribution of the countrys income and wealthan approach that includes indigenous peoples as full participants with legal rights-- is still pending. With the presidential elections less than a month away, and in recognition that we are a country of indigenous origin, we demand that the political parties include the agenda of priorities of our peoples and the implementation of our rights with concrete actions in the next government administration. Indigenous peoples have succeeded in opening constructive dialogue with the States, and in having influence in the UN system at the highest levels. We will continue taking diplomatic and strategic actions to ensure that our priorities become international policies which shape national legislation, and lead us to be recognized as plural, diverse countries and societies, free from exclusion and discrimination. Within the framework of our 25 years, we shared with you the pride and the satisfaction of contributing to cultural affirmation, to the development of intercultural education and health, and to the validation of the Andean and Amazonian diet. In addition we have created opportunities and mechanisms where Andean and Amazonian women, children and youth come together, building and strengthening skills that prepare them to assume leadership in the local, national and international plane. Creating their own proposals and initiatives, they are acting to achieve their own agenda in their own name. In this celebration we renew our commitment and we urge our brothers and sisters of Peru and the world to reflect on the richness of our multiple cultures, to understand the value. Join with us in the defense of the individual and collective rights of all our peoples in order to construct a society that is proud of the profound resource inherent in its diversity a society which promotes development with equality for all. Lima, March 15th, 2011 CHIRAPAQ Centro de Culturas Indgenas del Per ayllu@chirapaq.org.pe www.chirapaq.org.pe