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UN Human Rights Council (Geneva)

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I began this campaign to raise money for my airfare to Geneva, Switzerland this weekend as an attendee at the United Nations Human Rights Council.  I have volunteered to be a representative and receive no compensation, therefore I am asking for any kind of contribution.

Should my itinerary be canceled last minute, all donated funds will be immediately returned to the donors via GoFundMe's tools.

BACKGROUND:
I am a Geo-Environmental engineer in Cleveland.  Lately, I have become more and more involved in human rights - especially those pertaining to our indigenous communities.

After writing some published artciles regarding indigneous social justice issues, I was contacted by the Southeast Indigenous Peoples' Center (SIPC) to provide a supplement to their recent report at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.  I provided this piece and was informed by SIPC that my document went home with the representatives from Peru, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ecuador, China, Vietnam, the European Union, Iran, Bolivia, Honduras, and the Vatican.

I have been asked to make a 2-minute presentation to the Council if the slots are available, which I hope to do.  I also plan to attend sessions and partake in discussions during the US review.

The purpose of this Council is to address human rights around the world, so I will have the opporutnity to draw international attention to where there are lapses in our country's efforts.

"The UNHRC has addressed conflicts including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and also addresses rights-related situations in countries such as in Burma, Guinea, North Korea, Côte d'Ivoire, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Libya, Iran, and Sri Lanka. The UNHRC also addresses important thematic human rights issues such as freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion, women's rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities."

I will be one of the indigneous peoples representatives from the US.  The SIPC's focus for this event is on the representation of Native peoples and concerns regarding violence against indigneous women.  The SIPC in particular wants to draw attention to Native "mascotry" and the psychological effect it has in our communities.  In my supplementary document, I also included alarming statistics on health concerns.  The report was in regards to how the U.S. is not properly following through with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) .  Here are some statistics I had provided in the original document:

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice:
• AI/AN women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the U.S. in general
• 1 in 3 AI/AN women will be raped in her lifetime versus 1 in 5 of American women in general
• a larger percentage of victimization against AI/AN women is committed by white offenders than by AI/AN offenders

According to the Aspen Institute,
• American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) poverty rates in 2009 were 23.6%
• AI/AN average household income was $33,300 versus a National average of $46,200 in 2000
• AI/AN in Indian Country have incomes of less than half the National average
• the IHS estimates, historically, annual Congressional appropriations have only met 52% of AI/AN healthcare needs
• in 2009, 24.1% AI/AN lacked health insurance coverage, yet had more than double the suicide rate, with indigenous teens the highest suicide rate of any group in the country, a 514% higher alcoholism mortality rate, a 177% rate of diabetes (and the highest Type 2 rates in the country), and 500% higher rates of tuberculosis.
• 16% of students at BIA schools in 2001 had attempted suicide in the preceding 12 months
• the second leading cause of death is suicide, 2.5 the national average, among AI/AN ages 15-24
• in 2003, the national graduation rate was 49.3% for AI/AN versus 76.2% for whites, 13.3% AI/AN got undergraduate degrees verses 24.4% for the general population
• drop out rates for AI/AN high school students are more than double the national average, and are over 50% in states with the highest AI/AN population
• AI/AN children make up 2% of American children, yet 8.4% of American foster care children
• violence accounts for 75% of deaths in AI/AN ages 12-20 years (malicious injuries, homicide, suicide)

China has already submitted questions regarding the continued land grabs in the United States and why treaties are still being broken.  By supporting UNDRIP, we are protecting indigenous peoples and their rights and thereby protecting the rights of all people.  By supporting UNDRIP, we are also recognizing treaty rights and putting an end to destructive practices on indigenous lands.  This protects the environment and therefore this also helps all indigenous and  non-indigenous peoples.

Please consider making a small contribution.  GoFundMe will provide me directly with nearly all of the funds donated (a small amount is withdrawn for the service).

I will provide updates as we finalize a plan for my participation in this event.

Niyaawe,
Kayla DeVault

Organizer

Kayla Faith Zuckerberg
Organizer
Greensburg, PA

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