it is now my pleasure to invite the Secretary General of the United Nations his Excellency Antonio Gutierrez to address the permanent forum [Applause] Senor Presidente ladies and gentlemen it is my privilege to welcome you to this 22nd session of the permanent Forum on indigenous issues indigenous peoples reflect Humanity's magnificent diversity representing more than 5 000 different cultures and speaking over 4 000 different languages customs and traditions vary widely but the challenges are struggling similar marginalization and exclusion the denial of Human Rights illegal exploitation of resource-rich territories this possession and eviction from ancestral lands even physical
attacks and violence around the world millions of indigenous peoples are losing their lands their rights and their resources the Injustice of generations of discrimination manifests itself in staggering inequalities indigenous peoples make up around five percent of the world's population but 15 percent of the world's poorest indigenous women the keepers of so much Rich Heritage often suffer the most and my message today is clear the United Nations stands with you so excellencies I welcome your focus this year on the intersection of human and planetary Health the climate crisis and the rights of indigenous peoples and I
salute the indigenous movements across the world often led by women and young people for spreading efforts to protect nature and to preserve biodiversity for thousands of years indigenous peoples have pioneered sustainable land management and climate adaption in the Sahel ancient farming techniques are breeding life into the semi-arid region across the Amazon indigenous agriculture has preserved and enhanced the richness of the rainforests ecology and in the malayas systems developed by indigenous peoples preserved soil reduce erosion can serve water and reduce disasters risks but indigenous peoples live on the front lines of the climate emergency last year
I traveled to Suriname and they are the extraordinary privilege of visiting with the Kalina peoples and I saw firsthand our climate change is devastating their lands destroying their way of life and threatening their very survival indigenous peoples have done nothing to cause the climate crisis but often face the worst and most immediate impacts that is why we must speed up efforts to deliver climate Justice and scale up finance and capacities for adaptation and loss and damage at the same time indigenous peoples hold many of the solutions to The Climate crisis and are Guardians of the
world's biodiversity the so-called green economy is not a New Concept for indigenous peoples it is a way of life stretching back millennia we have so much to learn from their wisdom knowledge leadership experience and example and so ladies and gentlemen since the adoption of the landmark Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples in 2007 United Nations has steadily broadened the participation of indigenous peoples in our work the declaration has been utilized in courts and galvanized political action including the development of national action plans and they welcome the strength and participation of indigenous peoples through platforms
established within established within U.N processes such as the convention on biological diversity and the U.N framework convention on climate change the report on our common agenda calls the Innovative approaches to advance the meaningful participation and Leadership of those traditionally marginalized include minorities and Indigenous groups and this includes efforts to combat food insecurity and close the digital divides the United Nations is committed to keep promoting the rights of indigenous peoples in policies and programming at all levels and to amplify your voices let us learn from and embrace the experiences of indigenous peoples worldwide let us work
together and work hand in hand towards peace sustainability and prosperity for all and I wish all of you a very successful forum and I thank you I thank the Secretary General for his statement and for his presence here with us this morning
