The UN hosted New Zealand's signing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People on Monday.

Maori singers celebrated the signing with traditional Maori song.

New Zealand's Minister for Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, acknowledged that recognition of the declaration was a long time coming.     
       
[Pita Sharples, New Zealand's Minister for Maori Affairs]: 
"I come with humble heart to celebrate the declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. The New Zealand government has long discussed this matter and has recently decided to support it."             

Representatives of the Maori community applauded the signing, three years after the declaration was adopted by the UN.  
          
[Pita Sharples, New Zealand's Minister for Maori Affairs]: 
"New Zealand support for the declaration represents an opportunity to acknowledge and restate the special cultural and historical position of Maori as the original inhabitants, the 'Tangata whenua' (indigenous people) of New Zealand. It reflects our continuing endeavors to work together to find solutions and underlines the importance of the relationship between Maori and the Crown."   
         
New Zealand, along with the United States, Canada and Australia originally opposed the declaration in 2007, though Australia also has since endorsed it.