This 9 August marks the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, as decided by the United Nations General Assembly in 1994. For this reason, different organizations warned about the situation they face in the pandemic. Among them, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said “the spread of the pandemic among indigenous peoples’ members, along with environmental challenges, pose a major threat to these communities.” He explained that more than 70 thousand members of the native peoples are affected by Covid-19 in America and noted that 23 thousand of them live in 190 villages in the Amazon basin, where more than a thousand deaths have already been recorded. These lands, he explained, are constantly damaged and contaminated by illegal mining, logging and logging and burning agriculture.
“Thousands of reported deaths come at a high cost to these communities as they include several elderly indigenous peoples who had a deep knowledge of the ancestral traditions of these peoples,” he added, adding, adding, “The pandemic makes clear the importance of ensuring that indigenous peoples can exercise their rights of autonomy and self-determination.” Amnesty International warned of “the situation of discrimination and violation of the rights of many indigenous communities in the country deepened by the pandemic and compulsory social isolation”, in a report that released more than 20 cases. Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that “poverty, racism and inequality make the most vulnerable, including indigenous peoples, less likely to survive if they get sick from Covid-19.”
In this note:
International Day of Indigenous Peoples
Pandemic
