International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022, August 9th.

FORUM: "The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge."International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022.

Indigenous women are the backbone of indigenous peoples’ communities and play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge. They have an integral collective and community role as carers of natural resources and keepers of scientific knowledge. Many indigenous women are also taking the lead in the defence of lands and territories and advocating for indigenous peoples’ collective rights worldwide.

The significance of indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge is widely acknowledged: “Long before the development of modern science, which is quite young, indigenous peoples have developed their ways of knowing how to survive and also of ideas about meanings, purposes and values.” As noted by the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, the term “scientific knowledge” is also used to underscore that traditional knowledge is contemporary and dynamic, and of equal value to other kinds of knowledge.

International consultations jointly facilitated by UNESCO and the Internal Council of Science (ICSU) states that “Traditional knowledge is a cumulative body of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations maintained and developed by peoples with extended histories of interaction with the natural environment. These sophisticated sets of understandings, interpretations and meanings are part and parcel of a cultural complex that encompasses language, naming and classification systems, resource use practices, ritual, spirituality and worldviews.”

However, despite the crucial role that indigenous women play in their communities as breadwinners, caretakers, knowledge keepers, leaders and human rights defenders, they often suffer from intersecting levels of discrimination on the basis of gender, class, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Their right to self-determination, self-governance and control of resources and ancestral lands have been violated over centuries.

Small but significant progress has been made by indigenous women in decision-making processes in some communities. They are leaders at local and national levels, and stand at the frontlines of defending their lands, their cultures, and their communities. The reality, however, remains that indigenous women are widely under-represented, disproportionately negatively affected by decisions made on their behalf, and are too frequently the victims of multiple expressions of discrimination and violence.

The Committee of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) highlighted some of the major issues encountered by indigenous women, particularly noting the high levels of poverty; low levels of education and illiteracy; limitations in access to health, basic sanitation, credit and employment; limited participation in political life; and the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence.

Statement by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on World's Indigenous Peoples Day, 9 August 2022.

On this year’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we are highlighting the role of Indigenous women in preserving and passing on traditional knowledge.

Indigenous women are knowledge keepers of traditional food systems and medicines.

They are champions of Indigenous languages and cultures.

They defend the environment and Indigenous peoples’ human rights.

To build and equitable and sustainable future that leaves no one behind, we must amplify the voices of Indigenous women.

Indigenous traditional knowledge can offer solutions to many of our common challenges.

On my recent visit to Suriname, I learned first-hand how Indigenous peoples are protecting their rainforest and its rich biodiversity.

On this International Day, I call on Member States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to promote Indigenous traditional knowledge for the benefit of all.

António Guterres

• EVENTS: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022, Virtual commemoration, 9 August.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated globally on 9 August. It marks the date of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982. The Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is organizing a virtual commemoration of the International Day from 9 am to 11am (EST) on Tuesday, 9 August 2022, focusing on this year’s theme: “The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge”. Indigenous Peoples, Member States, UN entities, civil society, and the public are all invited.

The virtual commemoration will include an interactive dialogue segment with invited speakers, moderated by Ms Rosemary Lane, Acting Chief of the Indigenous Peoples Development Branch – Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Speakers will share their expertise and experience from their indigenous communities in preserving, reviving, retaining, and transmitting the traditional ancestral knowledge in various fields of communal activities, including but not limited to effective and sustainable climate solutions, use of natural resources, protection of biodiversity, ensuring food security, promoting native languages and culture, and managing indigenous science and medicine.

Some of the questions to be discussed are:

• What is the unique position of indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge?
• What are some of the brightest examples of indigenous women-led processes in solving contemporary global issues through the effective application of traditional scientific knowledge?
• How are indigenous languages crucial to the development, preservation, and transmission of indigenous cultural and knowledge systems? How are women leading the way in maintaining indigenous languages?
• What was the effect of applying indigenous scientific knowledge and medicine in alleviating the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemiologic crisis?

Panel Speakers

• Archana Soreng (Kharia) – Member of UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
• Aili Keskitalo (Sámi)  – Former President of the Sámi Parliament of Norway
• Zakiyatou Oualet Halatine (Touareg) – Former Minister of Tourism & Handicrafts, Mali
• Hannah McGlade (Noongar) – Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

 

Commentary 

Commentary on Panel Discussion by His Excellency Ambassador Diego Pary Rodriguez (Quechua), Permanent Representative of Bolivia to the United Nations.

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Participate by responding to two questions that will be asked at the end of the event, here are the details to join us!

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International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2016, August 9.

Международный день коренных народов мира, 9 августа.
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, 9 August.
世界土著人民国际日, 8月9日.
Día Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas, 9 de agosto.
Journée internationale des peuples autochtones, 9 août.
 أغسطس 9.,اليوم الدولي للشعوب الأصلية في العالم



Theme 2016 : Indigenous Peoples' Right to Education.

Statement by the United Nations Secretary- General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon for the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2016, August 9.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by world leaders last year, is predicated on the principle of leaving no one behind in the journey to a world of peace and dignity, opportunity and prosperity.  Among those most vulnerable to being left behind are indigenous peoples.
Indigenous peoples face a wide range of challenges including systematic discrimination, denial of their land and territorial rights and inadequate access to essential services.  Indigenous peoples regularly face stigmatization of their cultural identity and lack of respect and recognition for their heritage and values, including in textbooks and other educational materials.  Their marginalization is often compounded by language barriers.  Instruction is mainly in the national language, with little or no instruction in, or recognition of, indigenous languages. 
This has grave consequences.  Around the globe, indigenous youth are graduating from high school at rates well below the national average.  In some countries, less than 40 per cent of indigenous children attend school full-time.  In many others, few indigenous children complete a full high school education.  This is unacceptable.  We will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals if we fail to address the educational needs of indigenous peoples.
In recent decades, the world has progressed considerably in advocating for the rights of indigenous peoples.  The United Nations now has three specific mechanisms to advance their cause: the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  We also have the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, the Declaration is the definitive benchmark for the recognition, promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples.
In September 2014, the first World Conference on Indigenous Peoples adopted an action oriented outcome document to achieve the ends of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  As a direct result we now have a UN System Wide Action Plan to promote awareness and action to support the implementation of the UN Declaration, particularly at the country level.
On this International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, I call on Governments everywhere to draw on the guidance of this international framework to improve access to education for indigenous peoples and to reflect their experiences and culture in places of learning.  Let us commit to ensuring indigenous peoples are not left behind as we pursue the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Other Statements

• Message from Director-General of UNESCO
• Message from Director General of WIPO
• Message from the Executive Secretary of the CBD 
• Message from Executive Director of UN Women
• Joint Message from the UN Mechanisms on Indigenous Peoples
• Message from UNICEF, UNFPA and UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Regional Directors  
• Message from ILO Director-General
• Message from the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh
• Message from UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean 

Forum : International Day of the World’s Indigenous People - August 9.
On Twitter, follow #WeAreIndigenous and @UN4Indigenous

The right of indigenous peoples to education is protected by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which in Article 14 states that “Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.”
The right of indigenous peoples to education is also protected by a number of other international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for ensuring equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
In spite of these instruments, the right to education has not been fully realized for most indigenous peoples, and a critical education gap exists between indigenous peoples and the general population.
Where data exist, they show consistent and persistent disparities between the indigenous and the non-indigenous population in terms of educational access, retention and achievement, in all regions of the world.
The education sector not only mirrors the historical abuses, discrimination and marginalization suffered by indigenous peoples, but also reflects their continued struggle for equality and respect for their rights as peoples and as individuals.

EVENTS: Commemoration of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2016.

 

International Day of The World's Indigenous Peoples 2016,  Special Event at UN Headquarters.

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

ECOSOC Chamber
3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Live broadcasting : Press briefing on the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People - August 9, with a focus on Indigenous peoples and the ' right to education. UN Web TV Speakers: Álvaro Pop, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Maya Q'eqchi, Guatemala); Karla Jessen Williamson, University of Saskatchewan, Canada (Inuit, Greenland); Octaviana Trujillo, Northern Arizona University (Yaqui, USA).

    

Indigenous Peoples' Organizations, National Human Rights Institutions, indigenous Members of Parliament, and friends of indigenous peoples could registered.

    
Indigenous Peoples' Right to Education - Interactive dialogue. UN Web TV

On the occasion of the International Day of The World’s Indigenous Peoples 2016, this event was co-organized by the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, United Nations DESA Division for Social Policy and Development - DSPD, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and the UN DPI (Department of Public Information).

 

 

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2016, Events around the world.

 

UN Information Centres around the world are holding events and activities in observance of the International Day on or around 9 August 2016.

 Among them are:

Colombia: Events on the right to education across nine different localities, as well as an event bringing together indigenous peoples from across the region to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (2030 Agenda), with a special focus on access to education.
Ghana: Visit by a youth group to a children's home in a rural community of indigenous peoples.
Peru: Dialogue with Tarcila Rivera, incoming member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, with 250 students from 10 schools, with a special focus on the right of indigenous peoples to education.
Sri Lanka: Discussion session with the indigenous Vedda people in the remote village of Dambana, to raise awareness of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Indonesia: Events in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, including a parade showcasing indigenous traditions, dress, music and arts; a one-day seminar on improving access to education for indigenous populations; and performances by some of Indonesia’s over 1,000 indigenous tribes.
Honduras: Event with the indigenous Pech people in a rural community of Olancho, to promote education and food security rights and showcase indigenous traditions, music and art.


Publications :

Minority Group International -  The State of the World' Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2016

The 2016 edition of State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples highlights the impact of Armed Conflict, Indigenous land rights, Ancestral Lands dispossession, Forced assimilation and Discrimination on the most fundamental aspects of minority and indigenous identities, namely their Languages, Art, Traditional Knowledge and Spirituality.

The State of the World' Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2016

  

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2015, August 9

世界土著人民国际日, 8月9日.

 Día Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas, 9 de agosto.
Международный день коренных народов мира, 9 августа.
Journée internationale des peuples autochtones, 9 août.
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, 9 August.

اليوم الدولي للشعوب الأصلية في العالم، 9 اغسطس.

2015年主题：“2015年后发展议程：确保土著人民的健康与福祉”

Tema 2015: «Agenda después de 2015: Garantizar la salud y el bienestar de los pueblos indígenas».

Тема в 2015 году: «Повестка дня на период после 2015 года: обеспечение здоровья и благополучия коренных народов» 

Thème 2015 - « Programme pour l’après-2015 : Garantir santé et bien-être aux peuples autochtones »

2015 Theme: "Post 2015 Agenda: Ensuring indigenous peoples' health and well-being".

موضوع 2015: "جدول أعمال ما بعد 2015: ضمان رخاء الشعوب الأصلية وصحتها"

United Nations Secretary-General's Message for the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2015. 

This year, as the United Nations commemorates its 70th anniversary, we can look back on major advances for humanity. The 2007 adoption by the General Assembly of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was one of many successes achieved through the fruitful partnership between indigenous peoples and United Nations Member States.
The year also marks a watershed in human development. The period of the Millennium Development Goals is drawing to a close to be succeeded by a post-2015 development agenda designed to advance inclusion and shared prosperity. This people’s agenda is a concrete plan of action for ending poverty in all its dimensions, irreversibly, everywhere, and leaving no one behind.
On this International Day, we are focusing attention on the health and well-being of the world’s indigenous peoples. The Declaration affirms the right to maintain indigenous health practices as well as to have access to all social and health services for the enjoyment of the highest standards of physical and mental health. We must make every effort to support indigenous peoples’ rights and aspirations as affirmed in the Declaration.
Indigenous peoples face a wide range of challenges to their health and well-being. Most are eminently preventable. They include inadequate sanitation and housing, lack of prenatal care, widespread violence against women, and high rates of diabetes, drug and alcohol abuse, youth suicide and infant mortality. These issues must be urgently addressed as part of the post-2015 development agenda in culturally appropriate ways that meet indigenous peoples’ conceptions of and aspirations for well-being.
On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, I call on the international community to ensure that they are not left behind. To create a better, more equitable future, let us commit to do more to improve the health and well-being of indigenous peoples

Ban Ki-moon

STATE OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (2nd Volume)

Indigenous Peoples' Access to Health Services -

State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

Foreword to the State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 

By Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs

Over the past two decades, international efforts have been made to improve the rights of indigenous peoples, to bring awareness to their issues, including their engagement in developing policy and programmes in order to improve their livelihoods. In the First Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1995 – 2004) the United Nations created the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as well as the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. 

 

During the Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (2005 – 2015), there have been further initiatives such as the creation of Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007 was a major step for the United Nations as the Declaration had been debated for over twenty years. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. At its twelfth session, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues reviewed health as one of its mandated areas and stated the right to health materializes through the well-being of an individual as well as the social, emotional, spiritual and cultural well-being of the whole community.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining their health programmes; the right to their traditional medicines, maintain their health practices, and the equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Unfortunately, indigenous peoples suffer higher rates of ill health and have dramatically shorter life expectancy than other groups living in the same countries. This inequity results in indigenous peoples suffering unacceptable health problems and they are more likely to experience disabilities and dying at a younger age than their non-indigenous counterparts.

Indigenous peoples’ health status is severely affected by their living conditions, income levels, employment rates, access to safe water, sanitation, health services and food availability. Indigenous peoples are facing destruction to their lands, territories and resources, which are essential to their very survival. Other threats include climate change and environmental contamination (heavy metals, industrial gases and effluent wastes).

Indigenous peoples also experience major structural barriers in accessing health care. These include geographical isolation and poverty which results in not having the means to pay the high cost for transport or treatment. This is further compounded by discrimination, racism and a lack of cultural understanding and sensitivity. Many health systems do not reflect the social and cultural practices and beliefs of indigenous peoples.

At the same time, it is often difficult to obtain a global assessment of indigenous peoples’ health status because of the lack of data. There has to be more work undertaken towards building on existing data collection systems to include data on indigenous peoples and their communities.

 

This publication sets out to examine the major challenges for indigenous peoples to obtain adequate access to and utilization of quality health care services. It provides an important background to many of the health issues that indigenous peoples are currently facing. Improving indigenous peoples’ health remains a critical challenge for indigenous peoples, States and the United Nations.

 

 Forum : International Day of the World’s Indigenous People - August 9

This year's theme puts a spotlight on the issue of indigenous peoples' access to health care services, as improving indigenous peoples’ health remains a critical challenge for indigenous peoples, Member States and the United Nations. The “State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Volume II”, which will be launched at the UN Headquarters event in observance of the International Day, provides important background information on the topic

Events : The event will be webcast live on webtv.un.org. Read the Press Release.

Monday, 10 August 2015 

3:00 – 6:00pm, ECOSOC Chamber

The observance of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples will take place on Monday, 10 August 2015 in ECOSOC Chamber, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
As part of the commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Department of Public Information is organizing an event that will bring together indigenous peoples organizations, UN agencies, Member States and the general public. This year the theme will be on “Post 2015 Agenda: Ensuring indigenous peoples health and well-being”.
To register for this event please send an email to Mr. Nicolas Magnien at magnien@un.org and Mr. Arturo Requesens at requesens@un.org indicating full name and organization affiliation. You will receive an email confirming your registration. The deadline to register to attend the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is Tuesday, 4 August 2015.

Holders of valid UNHQ grounds passes do not need to register.

Resources :

• UN Permanent Forum: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2015
• UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
• Second International Decade