UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for safeguarding the rights of indigenous people to live in peace and dignity, in his message on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, observed annually on August 9.

Indigenous peoples represent around 6 per cent of the world’s population, but their stewardship signifies an outsized contribution to our global community, Guterres said on Friday.

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Highlighting their roles as “keepers of knowledge and traditions” that help safeguard some of the most biodiverse areas of the planet, and as “guardians of the environment,” the UN chief said, “Their survival is our survival.”

While their unique way of life is a testament to the rich tapestry of humanity, Indigenous people also face serious challenges that threaten their very existence, Guterres warned, adding that they are often the victims of threats and violence, and extractive and productive sectors like mining, agriculture and transport have accelerated deforestation and land degradation, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Ancestral homelands and natural resources that they depend on for survival are coming under siege. And their rights to self-determination and agency — enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — are yet to be fulfilled,” he said.

Noting that this year’s theme “Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact” reminds us of their rights to protect themselves from unwanted contact, the UN chief warned that contact “can have a devastating impact,” including “exposure to infectious diseases, forced assimilation and the disruption of culture, language, and livelihoods”.

He called on the international community to “stand behind the rights of indigenous peoples to chart their own futures” and “safeguard their rights to live in peace and dignity”.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in December 1994 to designate August 9 as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

According to the United Nations, there are an estimated 476 million indigenous people in the world living across 90 countries, making up less than 6 per cent of the world’s population. They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.