Indigenous Peoples | United Nations (2024)

Background

Common historical continuity

There are over 476 million indigenous people living in 90 countries across the world, accounting for 6.2 per cent of the global population. Of those, there are more than 5,000 distinct groups.

Indigenous people speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages. They are nearly three times as likely to be living in extreme poverty compared to their non-indigenous counterparts.

Indigenous peoples have in common a historical continuity with a given region prior to colonization and a strong link to their lands. They maintain, at least in part, distinct social, economic and political systems. They have distinct languages, cultures, beliefs and knowledge systems. They are determined to maintain and develop their identity and distinct institutions and they form a non-dominant sector of society.

The right to self-identification

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples does not include a definition of indigenous peoples.

According to the Declaration, self-identification as indigenous is considered a fundamental criterion. The Declaration refers to their right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions.

Indigenous Peoples — the challenges they face

Indigenous peoples face many challenges. These include:

• a denial of their right to control their own development based on their own values, needs and priorities
• a lack of - or very poor - political representation
• a lack of access to social services

Often, indigenous peoples are excluded or poorly represented in decision-making processes on matters that directly affect them and are not consulted about projects affecting their lands or the adoption of administrative or legislative measures that may affect them. Also, they are often displaced from their ancestral lands as a result of ventures such as the exploitation of natural resources.

UN Action

Highlighting the problem

Many issues raised by indigenous peoples, such as climate change and access to safe drinking water are now more visible at the international level.

The United Nations has highlighted the problem of discrimination against indigenous peoples since the first Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination in 1973-1982.

This concern led to the establishment in 1982 of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations, which articulated their needs and aspirations in the landmark Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted in September 2007 by the UN General Assembly.

Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

The Durban Declaration of 2001 acknowledges the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. It emphasizes, among other things:

• the right of indigenous peoples to be free and equal
• the right to self-determination and to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development
• the right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs
• the right to establish and control their educational systems
• the right to participate fully at all levels of decision-making in matters which may affect their rights, lives and destinies
• the right to their lands, territories and resources
• the right to be secure in the enjoyment of their own means of subsistence and development

Discrimination against Indigenous Peoples is racial discrimination

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has made it clear that discrimination against indigenous peoples is racial discrimination. It has interpreted non-discrimination as the protection of aspects of indigenous cultural identity and language and the offer of economic and social development, effective participation, and rights over lands, territories and resources.

Three mechanisms for combating discrimination against Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations has also established three mechanisms for combating discrimination against indigenous peoples:

1. The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was created to advise the UN on issues related to indigenous peoples and specifically to raise awareness and promote the coordination of activities related to indigenous issues within the UN system.


2. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people has a mandate to gather, request, receive and exchange information on alleged violations of their human rights.


3. The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides the Human Rights Council with thematic expertise on the rights of indigenous peoples.

Where are we?

Despite the progress that has been made, achieving significant recognition of, and improvements in, the human rights of peoples, who have endured centuries of exploitation and marginalization remains a tremendous challenge for governments and the United Nations system.

Links

Human Rights

• Human rights
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• Human Rights Council
• Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Indigenous Peoples

• Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people
• Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• DESA - Indigenous Peoples
• FAO - Indigenous Peoples
• ILO - Indigenous and tribal peoples
• PAHO - Considerations on Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendants, and Other Ethnic Groups During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• IFAD - Indigenous Peoples
• UNESCO – Indigenous Peoples
• Master Class Series against Racism and Discriminations (by UNESCO)
• UN Exhibition: The World In Faces

Documents and publications

• Publications by OHCHR Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section
• Durban Declaration

Related observances and conferences

• UN Conferences on Racism
• International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
• Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 – 2032)
• World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
• International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• Human Rights Day
• Other observances