UN Composition with photographs by PAHO (left), Martine Perret (center) and UNICEF Ecuador-Arcos (right) (Photo: UN)

The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples was declared by the UN General Assembly in December, 1994, marking the first meeting in 1982 of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations under the subcommittee for the promotion and protection of human rights.

The day recognizes the contributions of indigenous peoples to global issues including environmental protection, culture, and human rights.

Indigenous peoples and local communities play an important role in the management, conservation, and sustainable use of nature and biodiversity. Their contributions to a healthy planet include significant contributions to the world’s economy, culture, language, and tangible and intangible heritages.

The 370 million indigenous peoples living in 90 countries around the world make up less than 5% of the global population. They comprise about 5,000 distinct indigenous groups and speak over 7,000 languages. Many indigenous peoples are losing their ancestral lands and resources as a result of global development.

They are being forced to migrate to new lands to avoid conflicts and the impacts of climate change. If the trend persists, some national identities will be erased. Due to multiple pressures, indigenous people are recognized worldwide as an endangered group.

This year, the UN will continue to support the restoration of the identities of indigenous peoples and encourage them to protect their legitimate rights. Indigenous peoples embody the linguistic and cultural diversity of our common humanity. Protecting their rights and dignity is to protect the rights of all people and respect the soul of humanity in the past and future.

The UN urges people to recognize and respect the role of indigenous peoples in maintaining a healthy planet and preserving cultural and spiritual values, and calls on the international community to protect the human rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples, including the right to preserve and develop their culture, language, religion, custom, traditions, land, and natural resources.