The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) joins the United Nations, countries around the world and other human rights organizations in recognizing and honoring the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This year’s theme is Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Education. The right to education for the world’s indigenous people is outlined in article 14 of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf.
Article 14 is particularly important because it specifically outlines indigenous people’s rights to establish and maintain their own educational systems that conform to their own cultures and traditions, as well as their own languages. According to the United Nations (http://www.un.org/en/index.html , there are about 370 million indigenous people living in 90 countries. Also, although indigenous people make up only about 5% of the world population, they unfortunately make up about 15% of the world’s poor.
“It is important that the global community continues to work in support of the world’s indigenous peoples to ensure the preservation of their cultures, systems, and languages,” said Imad Hamad, AHRC-USA Executive Director. “AHRC-USA is committed to promoting and advancing the human rights and human dignity of all of the world’s peoples, especially the indigenous peoples who continue to face challenges to fully exercising their human rights,” added Mr. Hamad.
To learn more about the World’s Indigenous Peoples, please visit http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/Pages/Declaration.aspx