International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – 9th August 2022

09-08-2022

Beatrice Serra

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

On August 9th, the international community annually celebrates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. It was in 1993 when the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/75 establishing the Indigenous Day with the aim of encouraging the international community, States and Indigenous groups to build up relationships based on mutual respect and understanding. Over the years, the UN has adopted a wide range of tools to promote and protect the rights of Indigenous people, including the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in 2007. Such instruments are part of the apparatus recognizing the uniqueness of their social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. [1]

The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge is the theme chosen for the year 2022. Thanks to their deep spiritual, cultural, social and economic connections with their lands, territories and resources, “Indigenous women are knowledge keepers of traditional food systems and medicines. They are champions of Indigenous languages and cultures. They defend the environment and Indigenous peoples’ human rights”, said the UN chief Antonio Guterres (Antonio Guterres, 2022). [2] Despite the crucial role they play, Indigenous women are highly discriminated and suffer a wide range of violations, such as limited access to education, health, basic sanitation, and employment which in turn limit their participation in political life and expose them to domestic and sexual violence. [3]

This International Day of Indigenous Peoples aims at reclaiming the roles of Indigenous Women, who are indispensable “to build an equitable and sustainable future that leaves no one behind, we must amplify the voices of Indigenous women” (Antonio Guterres, 2022).

[1] United Nations, Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Retrieved on August 9, 2022, from https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/about-us.html.

[2] United Nations, Indigenous women’s work to preserve traditional knowledge celebrated on International Day, (8 August 2022), UN News, Retrieved on August 9, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/08/1124182.

[3] United Nations, The role of indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge, UN website, Retrieved on August 9, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/observances/indigenous-day.

Sources and further reading:

United Nations, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Retrieved on August 9, 2022, from, https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html.

United Nations, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, (13 September 2007), Resolution A/RES/61/295, Retrieved on August 9, 2022, from https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/512/07/PDF/N0651207.pdf?OpenElement.