International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

This year’s focus is on Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact. The United Nations (UN) points to the importance of these peoples, who bear witness to “the richness and complexity of the human mosaic, and their disappearance would constitute an enormous loss for our world.” At the same time, it recognizes their role as “the best defenders of the forests” in protecting the planet.

There are some 200 groups of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation in Latin America, India, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

World Indigenous Day is also an opportunity for the UN to highlight the presence of over 476 million indigenous people living in 90 countries. This represents 6.2% of the world’s population and a diversity of unique cultures, traditions, languages and knowledge systems. Unfortunately, indigenous populations are three times more likely to live in extreme poverty than other peoples.

For this reason, in 2022, the United Nations launched an appeal to all to establish a new social contract involving indigenous peoples. “We must demand the inclusion, participation and approval of Indigenous Peoples in building a system with social and economic benefits for all.”

Young natives in the Amazon rainforest. Source Pixabay

Event

In the year 2024, the UN is organizing a commemorative event on August 9 between 9 and 10:30 a.m. New York time. Speakers will share their knowledge of Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact. On the same registration page, discover a short video outlining their situation. In English only.

At the same time, it’s worth recalling the existence of the Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032), for which UNESCO has put together a number of relevant resources.

In addition, this day is an invitation to discover the photo exhibition “The World In Faces”, a tribute to the right of indigenous peoples to their cultures, identities and traditions and to self-determination. It was presented in 2019 at a meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.