Non-governmental organizations. This section is contributed by NGO's and other institutions National Indigenous People's Organization of Colombia, ONIC The National Indigenous Peoples' Organization of Colombia, ONIC, imagined as a great "maloka" (longhouse) of the country's indigenous peoples, came to life in 1982 as a result of an agreement amongst indigenous communities and peoples of Colombia assembled for the First Indigenous National Congress. Its mission is to assert the rights of indigenous people through the consolidation of the principles of unity, land, culture, and autonomy. Since its inception, ONIC has played a leading role in a diversity of struggles waged in indigenous territories in Colombia. The defense of cultural values, the fight for recognition of comprehensive territorial and cultural values, and the rejection of violence and the systematic murder of indigenous people, count among the main motivations of indigenous peoples to keep united under the Organization, and take up new challenges. Unity has allowed us to make it clear to government and private organizations alike that we do possess our own means to defend our rights. We have managed to coordinate ONIC's work with other expressions of the indigenous movement in connection with issues such as land, the Mining Code, and health care. This has been crucial in putting the principle of unity that drives our organization into practice.