Many indigenous peoples profess a deep respect for the planet and all forms of life, and an understanding that the health of the Earth goes hand in hand with the well-being of humanity.
This knowledge will be shared at the 2023 session of the Permanent Conference on Indigenous Affairs (UNPFII), a ten-day event which gives indigenous communities a voice at the UN, with sessions dedicated to economic and social development, cultural , environment, education, and health and human rights).
Before the conference, UN News interviewed Darío Mejia Montalvo, an indigenous member of the Zenu community in the Colombian Caribbean, and President of the Permanent Assembly on Indigenous Affairs.
UN report: What is the Permanent Conference on Indigenous Affairs and why is it important?
Dario Mejia Montalvo: We have to first talk about what the United Nations is. Countries that are members of the UN are less than twenty years old.
Most of them have imposed their borders and legal systems on the people there long before the establishment of the States.
The United Nations was created without taking these people – who have always thought they had the right to maintain their own ways of life, government, territories, and culture – into account.
Creating the Permanent Assembly is the largest gathering of people in the United Nations system, seeking to discuss global issues that affect all peoples, not just indigenous peoples. It is the historical success of these people, left out of the creation of the UN; it is making their voices heard, but there is still a long way to go.
UN report: Why is the Assembly focusing its discussions on life and human health this year?
Darío Mejía MontalvoThe COVID-19 pandemic is a serious disorder for people but, for the planet, living beings, it is also a break from global pollution.
The UN was created with a single vision, that of the Member States. Natives advocate that we go beyond science, beyond economics, and beyond politics, and think of the planet as Mother Earth.
Our knowledge, which goes back thousands of years, is useful, important, and contains innovative solutions.
UN report: What studies do indigenous people have to deal with the health of the world?
Darío Mejía Montalvo: There are more than 5,000 indigenous people in the world, each with their own perspective, understanding of current situations, and solutions.
What I think indigenous people have in common is their relationship with the land, the basic principles of harmony and balance, where the concept of rights is not only based on people, but in nature.
There are many diagnoses, which may have elements in common, and may complement the investigations of Western science. We do not say that one kind of knowledge is superior to another; we have to recognize each other and work together as equals.
This is the way of the native people. It is not a state of moral or intellectual progress, but one of cooperation, dialogue, understanding, and self-identity. This is how indigenous peoples can contribute to the fight against the climate crisis.
An indigenous Barí woman makes a commitment to peace in Colombia after fighting with the FARC rebel group.
UN NewsWhen indigenous leaders defend their rights – especially those who defend environmental rights – they suffer persecution, murder, intimidation, and threats.
Darío Mejía Montalvo: These are real massacres, tragedies that are invisible to many.
Mankind has been convinced that natural resources are infinite and ever cheaper, and that Mother Earth’s materials are considered commodities.
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples have resisted the expansion of agricultural and mining areas. Every day they protect their communities from mining companies that come to extract oil, coal and resources that, for many indigenous people, are the lifeblood.
Many people believe that we have to compete with and dominate nature. The desire to control natural resources with legal or illegal companies, or through so-called green bonds or carbon markets is a form of colonialism, which considers indigenous peoples as inferior and powerless. and, therefore, justify their destruction and destruction.
Many states still do not recognize the existence of indigenous peoples and, when they do recognize them, there are many difficulties in advancing plans that will allow them to continue protecting and living on their lands in dignified conditions.
A group of Karamojong people in Uganda perform songs to share knowledge about weather and animal health.
UN News: What do you expect this year from the session of the Permanent Conference on Indigenous Affairs?
Darío Mejía Montalvo: The answer is always the same: to be heard on an equal level, and to be recognized for the contributions we can make to important global discussions.
We hope that there will be more sensitivity, humility on the part of Member States to recognize that, as societies, we are not on the right path, that the solutions to the conflicts proposed so far have shown that it is not enough, if it does not contradict. And we expect a little more integration, so that agreements and declarations are converted into concrete actions.
The United Nations is the center of international debate, and it should include indigenous cultures.
