INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

 

9 August commemorates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples worldwide.

This date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

2019 Theme: Indigenous Languages

This year’s observance is dedicated to Indigenous Peoples’ Languages in view of 2019 being marked as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

 

Background

• There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people in the world, living across 90 countries.
• They make up less than 5 percent of the world’s population but account for 15 percent of the poorest.
• They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.
• Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment.
• They have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live.
• Indigenous peoples have sought recognition of their identities, their way of life and their right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources for years, yet throughout history, their rights have always been violated.
• Indigenous peoples today, are arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the world.

 

International Year of Indigenous Languages

The large majority of the languages in danger are spoken by indigenous peoples. It is estimated that every 2 weeks, an indigenous language disappears, placing at risk the respective indigenous cultures and knowledge systems.

 

Indigenous languages, in particular, are a significant factor in a wide range of other indigenous issues, notably education, scientific and technological development, biosphere and the environment, freedom of expression, employment and social inclusion.

 

In response to these threats, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a Resolution on ‘Rights of Indigenous Peoples’, proclaiming 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

 

 

Source: UN

 

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