Here are five things you should know:
1. What does “voluntary isolation and initial contact” mean?
This year’s International Day focuses on the approximately 200 groups of indigenous peoples who are currently living in voluntary isolation and first contact.
They live isolated from the rest of the world and survive by gathering and hunting.
These groups live in remote, resource-rich forests in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Venezuela.
Brazil was one of the first countries to take steps to implement a policy of creating territorial reserves for people living in voluntary isolation, off-limits to extractive industries and migrants. (File)
2. Why should a group choose self-isolation?
These indigenous groups consciously avoid mainstream society.
Each community has its own reasons, with some trying to maintain their own autonomy.
Some communities also isolate themselves to protect their cultures and languages.
3. What threats are there?
One of the greatest dangers for indigenous peoples who are isolated from outside contacts is infection with disease.
Because of their isolation, these indigenous peoples lack the immune defenses to fight relatively common diseases. Forced contact with the outside world can have devastating consequences and destroy entire societies.
Some of the greatest threats come from our daily lives. Agriculture, mining, tourism and the hunt for natural resources in their territories are leading to deforestation of their forests, disrupting their way of life and destroying the natural environment they have protected for generations.
4. What are the consequences?
Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and in first contact are the best protectors of the forest.
Where their collective land and territory rights are protected, forests and their societies thrive. Their survival is also crucial for the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity.
In today’s hyper-connected world, the existence of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and first contact is a testament to the rich and complex diversity of humanity.
5. How can you help?
Supporting self-isolation helps protect unique cultures, languages, and ways of life. As consumers, making sustainable choices can help save these communities from extinction.
One of the greatest threats to indigenous peoples comes from mining companies that extract lithium, cobalt and other important minerals for renewable energy technologies.
The Secretary-General recently established the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals to ensure that human rights are respected in the minerals chain.
Members of an indigenous community living in the forests of one of the most remote regions of the Republic of Congo.
FAST FACTS
Girls (left to right) from Siberia, Russia, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea and El Quiché, Guatemala, proudly display their traditional clothing.
What indigenous peoples have in common is historical continuity with a specific region before colonization and a strong bond with their land. They maintain, at least in part, their own social, economic and political systems and have their own languages, cultures, beliefs and knowledge systems.
They are determined to preserve and develop their identity and their own institutions, and they represent a non-dominant part of society. Compared to their non-indigenous counterparts, they are almost three times more likely to live in extreme poverty.
Here are some facts:
- There are over 476 million indigenous peoples, or 6.2 percent of the world’s population.
- They live in 90 countries around the world.
- There are more than 5,000 different groups.
- Indigenous peoples speak the vast majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages.
- Learn more about International Day here.
- Join the commemoration on August 9th here.
- Learn more about the issue here.
- View photos of indigenous peoples from around the world in the UN online exhibition The world in faces Here.
