9th August: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: Legacy and Representation

9th August: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: Legacy and Representation

Policy Update
Aditi Singh Kaushik

Background:

Indigenous communities make up 6.2% of the global population. Today, around 476 million Indigenous peoples live across 90 countries and speak more than 4,000 languages. They account for a significant portion of the world’s biodiversity and nearly half of the world’s protected areas, thereby becoming critical partners in development and sustainability. Despite their diverse cultural practices and strong governance systems, Indigenous peoples across the globe are routinely subjected to political and social marginalization.  

In recognition of their unique contribution to our ecosystem and the lack of awareness surrounding their state of being, every August 9th is observed as the International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), through its resolution 49/214, adopted and marked this date as the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in 1982. Additionally, Article 24 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to their traditional medicines and to access social and health services without any discrimination. 

The term ‘Indigenous Peoples’ is used in vital official documents, including that of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in response to demands from indigenous representatives. The term carries significant legal importance, and is also intended to be emblematic of their status as peoples in international law holding a right to self-determination. Other terms such as ‘communities’, ‘groups’, and ‘minorities’ are often used interchangeably with ‘Indigenous Peoples.’ However, it is often advised to use these alternatives cautiously and in a manner that doesn’t undermine or deny their right to self-determination. 

Functioning:

Today, several international forums and advisory bodies function with an aim to conserve Indigenous practices and address challenges faced by myriad Indigenous communities throughout the world. These include, and are not limited to –

  1. United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) – Established on 28th July, 2000 by resolution 2000/22, the UNPFII functions as a high-level advisory body to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, environment, health, education, and human rights. The forum is instrumental in providing expert advice and recommendations on Indigenous issues to programmes and agencies of the United Nations through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The forum meets for ten days each year at the United Nations headquarters in New York, and promotes the integration and coordination of activities related to indigenous issues within the UN system. 
  1. Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) – LINKS exists as a knowledge integration programme supported by UNESCO. Its primary mission is to support Indigenous peoples and local communities by providing a mainstream platform for their knowledge systems. These knowledge systems generally refer to the practices and skills developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings. Established in 2002, the LINKS programme works primarily in the knowledge areas of biodiversity, ecosystems, disaster risk reduction, and climate change. 

Intending to provide equal footing to the preservers of ancient knowledge systems, the LINKS programme also emphasizes the importance of helping policymakers and scientists appreciate the complexity and relevance of Indigenous and local knowledge systems. 

   Issues and Challenges:

  1. Poverty – Indigenous communities represent about 6% of the world’s population, but make up 15% of the world’s extreme poor, and 1/3 of the rural poor. According to the World Bank’s first global study of poverty among Indigenous Peoples across the developing world, the Indigenous poverty headcount is significantly larger than for the non-indigenous population. Upon compiling national survey data from ten countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, the study also found that the gap between the poverty rate of the Indigenous and Non-Indigenous population is not closing, and in some cases is growing. China, however, appears to be an exception here, owing to the limited availability of data from China compared to the available data for other countries. 
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  1. Climate Change- Indigenous peoples are amongst the first communities to face the dire consequences posed by climate change, primarily due to their closer association and dependence on the environment and natural resources. In what can be considered a developing statistic, climate change is displacing Indigenous communities at seven times the rate of the global population. In places like Africa’s Kalahari Desert, Indigenous peoples are forced to live around government- drilled bores for water due to loss of vegetation caused by rising temperatures and increased wind speeds.

Under these dire circumstances, mitigation strategies like biofuel initiatives that are considered a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions may lead to an associated decline in biodiversity and food security. These mitigation measures pose dire consequences for indigenous communities. 

  1. Vicious Attacks against Indigenous Peoples –  Last year, Global Witness, an international NGO that investigates environmental and human rights abuses, reported the murders of 196 people around the world, who were exercising their rights to protect their lands and environment from harm. Global Witness reports that the total number (since it started reporting data in 2012) now stands at 2,106 murders. At the heart of this violence is the increasing rush for land, which results in land grabbing, or the forced acquisition of land on a large scale. Forced eviction from ancestral lands, and intimidation, which have often led to the murders of indigenous human rights defenders, have lowered the life expectancy of Indigenous peoples up to 20 years as compared to non-indigenous populations. 

Between 2012 and 2023, the top four countries- Colombia, Brazil, Honduras, and Mexico accounted for 70% of the murders, of which 43% were of Indigenous peoples and 12% murdered were of women. 

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Source: Global Witness (https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/missing-voices/) 

Way Forward:

International organisations, policymakers, and politicians must put Indigenous peoples on an equal footing on all levels of policymaking. The policies made at local, national, and international levels must be flexible enough to reflect the safety, priority, needs, and management of indigenous peoples, not merely because they carry much of the burden for preserving and protecting 22% of the earth’s surface, but also because Indigenous peoples are inheritors of unique cultures that have been developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings. These surroundings encompass unique languages, food systems, and social structures that need to be conserved locally, nationally, and through multilateral systems. 

References- 

About the Contributor

Aditi Singh Kaushik is a Research Intern at IMPRI. She is also a Master’s graduate in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University. Her research interest lies in understanding the evolving roles of traditional and organic intellectuals in post-colonial countries, within a Gramscian framework. 

Acknowledgment: The author sincerely thanks the IMPRI team for their valuable support.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation. 

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