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Thus begins the Chiapas Declaration, adopted by consensus by the participants in the International Parliamentary Conference on Parliaments, minorities and indigenous peoples. The Declaration urges all parliaments to hold a special debate on the issue and adopt a Plan of Action to make the right to equal participation and non-discrimination a reality for minorities and indigenous peoples. It also asks the IPU to monitor implementation of the Declaration, and to convene a meeting two years from now to review progress.

The conference was organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Mexican Congress of the Union and the Government of the State of Chiapas, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme; the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; the United Nations Independent Expert on minority issues; and the Minority Rights Group International.