PRESS CONFERENCE

7 DECEMBER, 2007 - 11:30AM IN FRONT OF THE MEDIA TENT

Indigenous Representatives Forcibly Barred from Meeting with UNFCCC Exec. Secretary

Indigenous leaders present at the UNFCCC will speak about the systematic exclusion against indigenous peoples from the official UNFCCC process.

They will address the following:

o Indigenous representatives were forcibly barred from entering a meeting yesterday with the UNFCCC Executive Secretary De Boer.

o The indigenous representatives were emailed incorrect information about the location and time of the meeting by NGO Liaison Barbara Black which caused them to arrive late.

o During the Opening of the UNFCCC indigenous representatives were denied a request to make an opening statement.

o These acts are part of an historical process of exclusion from the UNFCCC.

Contact:
- Hubertus Samangun, SE Asia Regional Coordinator of International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forest 0813-1077-8918
- Orin Langelle, Global Forest Coalition Media Coordinator 0813-3895-9742