"Twenty years of debate to produce this document, and we end up with a non-binding declaration that does not force governments to do anything; this is a disgrace," said Castro, spokesman for the influential Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).
For his part, Andrade, president of the National Indigenous Organisation of Colombia (ONIC), said the new instrument "is like saying yes, but no," since it is non-binding. In his view, many governments signed the document "just for the sake of image."
"We participated in some debates, but we have to say truthfully that the level of representation of most indigenous peoples was extremely low," said Andrade.
