A statement from Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Tebtebba Executive Director, during this International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2022.
Happy International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples!
We have a lot to celebrate, even amidst the grave human rights violations committed by some governments against us. We have to continue to persist in defending our lands and territories from land grabbers and destructive projects. We continue to speak our languages and assert our rights to our cultures, identities and knowledge. We contribute significantly to mitigating climate change and protecting biological diversity. We are guided by our values built around living in harmony with nature and being good neighbors. So, on this day, we reiterate our call on States to fulfill their obligations to respecting and protecting our human rights contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other Human Rights Treaties which they ratified. We call on the States and dominant populations to stop discrimination and racism against us. We commit to continue our efforts to push States to effectively implement the UNDRIP.