International Day of the World's Indigenous People

Yesterday, August 9, 2008 marked the first International Day of the World's Indigenous People, The first event of its kind to take place, thanks to the landmark adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the General Assembly in September 2007. The convention and the event seeks to promote the culture and rights of some 370 million indigenous men, women and children around the world.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, called for member states and indigenous people to work together to end the suffering of indigenous peoples around the world, which “includes some of the darkest episodes in human history”.  

Indigenous children are one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups across the global, saddly they are often overlooked in development planning, as well as the safegaurding of their rights.  Indigenous children have lower school rates and higher mortality rates than non-indigenous children.  In addition indigenous children are less likely to recieve vaccinations and other key nutitional and medical support, therefore urgent global action is needed to ensure that both their rights and survival is protected.

The matter of indigenous people, has not been over looked by the youth of today as the UN's 2007 Student Conference on Human Rights theme, Recognizing the Rights of Indigenous People, highlighted.  The conference concluded with a Student Plan of Action , for which their statements included that they were;

“Deeply concerned by the challenges that face Indigenous youth such as inadequate education, cultural discrimination, and other relevant areas.”

While the struggles of millions of indigenous children are far from over, one hopes that the establishment of a UN convention, will urge states and aid agencies to look for more sustainable programs and actions to ensure all of their fundamental rights are protected.