KATHMANDU: Today is being observed as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
According to the United Nations, an estimated 476 million Indigenous Peoples live across 90 countries worldwide. Although they represent less than 6 percent of the global population, they account for at least 15 percent of the world’s poorest people.
The UN states that Indigenous communities speak the majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent around 5,000 distinct cultures. They are regarded as custodians of rich traditions and unique ways of relating to both society and the natural environment.
Indigenous Peoples have preserved social, cultural, economic, and political characteristics that distinguish them from the dominant societies around them. Despite their diversity, many Indigenous communities face common challenges in protecting their identities, cultures, and rights to traditional lands, territories, and natural resources.
For decades, Indigenous Peoples have struggled for recognition of their identities, ways of life, and collective rights. Historically, these rights have often been neglected or denied. As a result, they are considered among the world’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
The international community has increasingly recognized the need for special measures to protect Indigenous rights and preserve their cultures and traditional ways of life.
To draw global attention to these issues, August 9 is observed each year as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The date commemorates the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations, held in Geneva in 1982.
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