When: 9 August 2024
Where: Online - Register on Zoom.
Theme: Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact
This International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August 2024 focuses on ‘Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact.’ Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact are the best protectors of the forest. Where their collective rights to lands and territories are protected, the forests thrive, alongside their societies. Not only is their survival crucial to the protection of our planet, but it is also essential to the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity. In today’s hyper-connected world, the existence of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact is a testament to the rich and complex tapestry of humanity. It would be a huge loss to our world if they were to cease to exist.
The virtual commemoration will include an opening segment with a traditional ceremony, followed by a virtual statement from the Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. A moderated panel with invited speakers will consider who Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact are, and the pressing challenges that they face for their survival. This will be followed by a discussion with invited speakers to share advancements on how their rights can be effectively recognized and protected. Indigenous Peoples, Member States, UN entities, civil society, and the public are all invited to participate. Interpretation will be available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Around 200 groups of Indigenous Peoples currently live in voluntary isolation and initial contact. They reside in remote forests rich in natural resources in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Venezuela. They choose to live detached from the rest of the world and their mobility pattern allows them to engage in gathering and hunting, thereby preserving their cultures and languages. These peoples have a strict dependency on their ecological environment. Any changes to their natural habitat can harm both the survival of individual members and the group as a whole.
Despite their right to autonomy, as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact face unique challenges often overlooked by the surrounding world. Globalization is driving significant economic growth and technological advancement, but it is also destabilizing environmental sustainability and social equity. Developments for agriculture, mining, tourism and natural resources in their territories result in the deforestation of swathes of Indigenous Peoples’ forests, disrupting their way of life and destroying the natural environment that they have protected for generations.
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