World must save them from extinction threat

Today, we celebrate the international day of the world’s indigenous people:

PEOPLE’S RIGHTS: In 1994, the General Assembly decided that the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People shall be observed on August 9, every year during the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (resolution 49/214 of 23 December).

The date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

In 1990, the General Assembly proclaimed 1993 the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People, and in 1993, the Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, starting on 10 December 1994.

The goal of the Decade was to strengthen international cooperation for solving problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education and health.

The Coordinator of the Decade was the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and its theme “Indigenous people: Partnership in action”.

UNESCO states that Indigenous populations number some 350 million individuals in more than 70 countries in the world, and that this represents more than 5000 languages and cultures. Today, many Indigenous peoples live on the fringes of society and are deprived of basic human rights, particularly cultural rights, due to dispossession and displacement from their land.

An Indigenous person is, by definition, a person belonging to the land or soil and being native to, or belonging naturally to a particular region.

Indigenous identity and cultural expression is closely linked to their relationship with land areas.

It is essential to know and understand the deeply spiritual special relationship between Indigenous peoples and their land as basic to their existence as such and to all their beliefs, customs, traditions and culture... Their land is not a commodity which can be acquired, but a material element to be enjoyed freely.

It is a day to celebrate the richness of cultural diversity in our world.

It is also a day to be reminded of the insecure situation in which many indigenous peoples still have to survive day by day.

It is about recognising the inextricable link between environmental and cultural diversity. In fact, people are integral parts of ecosystems. Indigenous peoples often inhabit many of our planet’s areas of highest biological diversity.

Not only animal and plant species, but also many indigenous peoples’ groups around the world are now faced with extinction. The unsustainable exploitation of our earth’s natural resources and marginalisation and dispossession of the lands and territories of indigenous peoples and minority groups are both cause and consequence of this loss.

Respect for human diversity implies respect for diversity in nature. Indeed, both elements are fundamental to stability and durable peace on earth. The key to creating forms of development that are sustainable and in harmony with the needs and aspirations of each culture implies breaking out of patterns that render invisible the lives and perspectives of indigenous cultures.

The environment should be appreciated in terms of human diversity, because different cultures perceive the environment in different ways.

This sensitive relationship was recognized in Chapter 26 of Agenda 21 which identifies a variety of ways that indigenous peoples, national governments, and United Nations’ agencies can strengthen the role of indigenous communities in sustainable development.

Agenda 21 specifies that “in view of the interrelationship between the natural environment and its sustainable development and the cultural, social, economic, and physical well-being of indigenous people, national and international efforts to implement environmentally sound and sustainable development should recognise, accommodate, promote and strengthen the role of indigenous people and their communities.”

Agenda 21 also indicates that the international community’s strong interest in these issues led to the designation of 1993 as The International Year for the World’s Indigenous People.

The rights of indigenous peoples are also noteworthy in the context of The Convention on Biological Diversity which recognizes some rights in principle but leaves much unresolved as to the extent of those rights in practice.

The potentially high economic value of pharmaceuticals derived from medicinal plants used by indigenous peoples stimulates interest in the issue.

Indigenous people have seen decimation of their populations as well as oppression by the dominant culture, especially in respect of languages, traditional knowledge and customs.

The programme of activities for the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People recognises the value and diversity of the cultures of Indigenous communities and of their specific forms of social organisation, and attaches value to the contributions that they can make to humanity.

The mapping of Indigenous cultural resources carried out by Indigenous communities is seen as a crucial step toward demonstrating that cultural diversity is a means of enrichment for the greater society.

As such, UNESCO continues to support pilot projects at work in the field.

Projects operating around the globe create numerous opportunities for interactions between knowledgeable people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Training and consultation activities in this area also benefit some of the most marginalised communities.

One of the reasons indigeous cultures have survived for so long is their ability to adapt and change over time.

It was this affinity with their surroundings that goes a long way to explaining how they survived for so many millennia.

Today, Indigenous communities keep their cultural heritage alive by passing their knowledge, arts, rituals and performances from one generation to another, speaking and teaching languages, and protecting cultural property and sacred and significant sites and objects.