Huanacuni highlighted the incorporation of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People of the United Nations approved in September 2007, in the new Political Constitution of the State, elevating it to the rank of Law of mandatory compliance, with Bolivia being the first country to introduce it to its regulations.

Bolivia’s proposal to declare April 22 as the International Mother Earth Day before the United Nations (UN) 11 years ago, aimed at remembering the responsibility of each human being to care for and preserve the planet and to find an effective balance between our diverse needs that is in harmony with nature and Mother Earth.

The diplomat also highlighted the approval of the new Political Constitution of the State in 2009, which recognizes the existence of 36 Indigenous nations, their rights and obligations which transcend borders.

Huanacuni pointed out that within the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (ALP), there are more indigenous and peasant parliamentarians, in addition to the increased participation of women, which reached 53% in recent years.

These advances allowed Bolivia to become one of the first States to recognize the individual and collective rights of these communities, and to be the second in the world with regards to the participation of women; “It is up to the Bolivian people and the international community to continue advancing with firmness and responsibility,” the Chancellor said.

United States | President Morales and Foreign Minister Huanacuni with indigenous representatives

Huanacuni concluded saying that we must not lose our focus, we must recognize our strengths and weaknesses  and ratify President Morales’ proposal to change the name of the gathering from the “Forum on Indigenous Issues” to “Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the World”  because “we are not issues or aliens, but human beings with rights.”

Chancellor: It is necessary to recover our languages to link ourselves with Mother Earth and Father Cosmos

Cancillería Bolivia
Translated by Internationalist 360°

Within the framework of the XVII Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations in New York, the debate on “Originating Languages” took place, where the Chancellor of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Fernando Huanacuni Mamani, referred to the importance of recovering our languages to link us again to Mother Earth and Father Cosmos, as the Bolivian government currently does when recognizing the right of 36 indigenous nations.

“In Bolivia, the heart of Latin America, live 36 indigenous nations, from the Amazon to the mountains, the Chaco to the Valleys, in which we allow a harmonious coexistence with Mother Earth,” where the process of transformation undertaken by President Evo Morales Ayma through the recovery of identity embodied in dance, music, language, custom, spirituality, is a way of life, a paradigm.

On the recovery of the language, it is important not only to strengthen the identity of a country but also to recover the connection with our ancestors, children, parents, grandparents, the mountains and all beings alive, because to recover our language “is to recover the sacred bond of our heart attached to the heart of Pachamama“, because when we speak of living well and in harmony with Mother Earth, they are the ancestors who speak for us, said Huanacuni.

“If we only recover our language, without our spirituality, without our way of life, it will be like recovering a sound without a heart, without feeling,” the Chancellor continued, referring to communication through technology, which, although it allows massive and rapid information exchange, is not ideal when talking about communication in a community, “we are together but alone,” he said. That is why we need to recover the connection with Mother Earth and Father Cosmos.

The diplomat invited those present to continue supporting the work of President Evo Morales Ayma, who more than 10 years ago, based his political, economic, and social programs on the recovery of ancestral wisdom, spirituality, and all the languages.

“May the year 2019 be a new beginning for Pachamama to sing through her children, so that Pachamama speaks through her children, which means joining our heart to the heartbeat of Mother Earth.”