International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2022: Theme, History and Significance

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2022: Globally, more than 86% of indigenous peoples work in the informal economy as compared to 66% for their non-indigenous counterparts. COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and aggravates various existing inequalities affecting populations across the world that were already suffering from poverty, illness, discrimination, financial insecurity, etc. 

International Day of the World's Indigenous People 2022 recognizes the efforts and achievements that indigenous people make to improve the issues of the world like environmental protection etc. This day not only focuses on the indigenous population but also on the current situation with indigenous languages around the world.

On the International day of the World's Indigenous People 2022, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) will organize a virtual commemoration of the International Day from 9 am to 11 am (EST) on Tuesday, 9 August 2022. The event will focus on this year’s theme: “The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge”.

Tuesday is #IndigenousDay - a time to celebrate indigenous peoples everywhere & their contributions to our world.

Find out more: https://t.co/bEhqDhl0Aj #WeAreIndigenous pic.twitter.com/k5qO0bR2iz

— United Nations (@UN) August 8, 2022

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2022: Theme

The theme of 2022 is “The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge”.

The theme of the International Day of the World's Indigenous People 2022 focuses on the indigenous women who are the backbone of indigenous people's communities. They also play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge. 

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples: History

This day is celebrated on 9 August annually to recognise the first UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations meeting in Geneva in 1982. On 23 December, 1994, the UN General Assembly decided to observe 9 August as the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples. As this is the International decade day of the World's Indigenous People. The Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People was proclaimed by the assembly in 2004 and it was decided to continue to observe annually International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. The goal of the decade was to strengthen cooperation internationally for solving problems basically faced by the indigenous peoples mainly in the areas like culture, education, health, human rights, and environment, social and economic development.

The Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution in April 2000 to establish the Permanent UN Forum on Indigenous Issues that was showcased by the Economic and Social Council. The forum mainly wants to focus on and discuss the issues related to culture, economic and social development, education, environment, health, human rights, etc.

Who are Indigenous People?

According to the UN,  over 476 million indigenous peoples living in 90 countries across the world and accounting for 6.2 percent of the global population. These are the peoples who inherit and practice unique cultures and methods of people related to the environment. Their social, cultural, economic, and political features are different from dominant societies in which they live. Indigenous peoples with the difference in the culture also share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples. According to history, the rights of indigenous peoples have always been violated. They are among those groups of people who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable in the world. Therefore, the international community recognises special measures that are required to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and to maintain their distinct cultures.

According to the UN, across the world, 47% of all indigenous peoples in employment have no education as compared to 17% of their non-indigenous counterparts. This gap is wider for women.

We can't ignore the fact that language plays an important role in the daily lives of people. It is one of the finest ways to communicate with each other. It is important in the areas like human rights protection, peacebuilding, and sustainable development. Due to various factors, languages in the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate and most of them are indigenous languages. For these threats only, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution (A/RES/71/178) on 'Rights of Indigenous Peoples' by proclaiming it as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

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