Against a backdrop pockmarked by cultural disintegration, “suicide clusters” and family displacements from extractive industries, speakers today in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples urged prompt and concerted action to reverse those trends and improve the lives of indigenous children and youth worldwide.
Asia had the highest concentration of indigenous and tribal peoples in the world — more than 150 million — yet many were disproportionately vulnerable to poverty, marginalization and human rights violations, as Governments prioritized economic development over respect for traditional cultures, lands and identities, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today during a half-day panel discussion on the region.
While land was a persistent source of conflict between Governments and indigenous peoples around the world, adequate State recognition of indigenous land claims and the equitable resolution of disputes had fostered avenues for peace and stability in Bangladesh and the Philippines, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today, as it concluded its review of good governance principles.
State-designed policies and laws that exacerbated the marginalization of communities must be reviewed, overhauled and transformed into inclusive and transparent legislation that ended the “nefarious underbelly of colonization”, delegates heard today as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continued its thirteenth session.
While important progress had been made in advancing rights and expanding opportunities for indigenous peoples, many around the world still faced discrimination, exploitation and the disproportionate impacts of societal ills, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
