Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations has increasingly taken up the cause of indigenous peoples, who constitute one of the world’s most disadvantaged groups. Indigenous peoples are also called first peoples, tribal peoples, aboriginal peoples and autochthons. Often excluded from decision-making processes, many have been marginalized, exploited, forcefully assimilated, and subjected to repression, torture and murder when they speak out in defence of their rights. Fearing persecution, they often become refugees and sometimes must hide their identity, abandoning their languages and traditional way of life.  

In 2007, the General Assembly adopted the landmark Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, including their right to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other benefits. It emphasizes their rights to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures, and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations. It also prohibits discrimination against them and promotes their full participation in public affairs and all matters that concern them, including their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development.