UN secretary-general calls for urgent implementation of Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the 24th Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that governments, international finance providers and multilateral institutions must accelerate implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to protect indigenous communities from dispossession, pollution and exclusion.

Guterres said the world’s indigenous peoples “are the preeminent stewards of the world biodiversity and of the environment” and warned that their rights and livelihoods are threatened by climate change, illegal exploitation and the growing demand for minerals used in the clean energy transition. “The clean energy era must power progress on indigenous people's rights,” he said.

The secretary-general framed his remarks around four priorities to strengthen implementation of the declaration. First, he called for stronger member-state representation and increased funding for the…