A good day for the Maori people

The Maori people have had a bit of good news recently as the New Zealand government agreed to an historic land deal that would give the Maoris almost £161 million in forestry assets.  This deal comes after a long-running history of indigenous grievances that dates back to the mid 19th century.

This is certainly a step forward, not only for the Maori people, but also for indigenous people in general.  And it is certainly one of the first real steps taken by a state to recognise the human rights of its indigenous peoples following the UN treaty that was formally agreed in September last year.

It seems as though the Maoris in New Zealand aren’t the only indigenous peoples to receive compensation recently.  According to the International Herald Tribune, Mexican authorities have agreed to pay 490,000 pesos (US$48,000) in compensation to 14 indigenous men who were coerced into having vasectomies.

That’s really one of those incredulous stories. But it reads pretty accurately. 

I couldn’t end this blog without mentioning the situation in Zimbabwe.  Here in the press office, we’re keeping a close eye on events.  No doubt we’ll be blogging about tomorrow’s elections.  But with the ever-changing situation it does make me wonder if the elections actually will go ahead tomorrow…

We’ll see.

Til the next time

Yule E