Don’t Shut Us Out of the Discussion Table—Indigenous Communities—World Issues
BAKU, Nov 19 (IPS) – Delegates representing Indigenous peoples’ rights have taken the ongoing COP29 negotiations seriously, demanding that Parties include text and language promoting Indigenous rights to be clearly spelled out in the consensus documents and outcomes.
Faced with multiple, complex challenges, they want to remove legal, social, political and economic barriers so that indigenous communities can live a meaningful life with all the necessary tools to deal with the challenges of climate change. In particular, they want the respect and promotion of their human rights and the rights of land and natural resources to which they have been connected for a thousand years.
“I am from an indigenous community in the Niger Delta and climate change is a reality for us. We are witnessing the disappearance of our local food and agricultural and medicinal products and the dangerous rise of sea levels. We are losing our ancestral lands and resources and this means we have lost our lives,” Prince Israel Orekha of Connected Advocacy for Empowerment and Youth Development during an interview he told IPS.
“In our society we are mainly farmers, but the dependence on fossil fuels in the Global North has had a negative impact on our farms and season after season we lose a lot of harvest. Our days are full of worries and our life expectancy is decreasing. to 42 percent We need a result that will give us a new beginning and a place where we can find clean air and make a living .
Orekha said that Indigenous peoples of the Global South are in a very disadvantaged position and have been prevented from fighting an effective battle against climate change. Emphasizing the need for climate localization so that all people everywhere can contribute and advance effective climate action.
“Today we are here to speak with one voice saying that Aboriginal people must be included in all meaningful ways. And part of that is ensuring that the people and places where Aboriginal people are represented must stand out in those economies and for all. Therefore, we should not be sidelined and the wisdom that we have, passed down from generation to generation, can make a difference in designing practical solutions for the climate and yet, we are left out of the decision-making tables,” he said.
Insisting that the marginalization of Indigenous peoples is “amazing and unhelpful, especially because we are leading communities. We are struggling with climate change. Policies and programs must be inclusive and promote equality and justice. We remain excluded but we hope that, eventually, the spell will be broken, and there will be something important for us in – COP29 Baku.” IPS UN Bureau Report
Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
Follow IPS News UN Bureau on Instagram
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
