Independent Dialogue
Geographical focus:
No borders
Main findings
The main findings were summarized in a Declaration issued by Indigenous Youth with the following recommendations (an excerpt): Indigenous youth urge the UN Secretary-General, Member States, and other relevant stakeholders to adhere to the following recommendations: 1. Recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples within the framework of Human Rights and the obligations of the United Nations Charter, regardless of the population size of the people concerned. Member States must recognize the criterion of self-identification. Indigenous Peoples right to self-determination in all aspects affecting th
... Read moreeir food systems should be duly respected. 2. Recognize the customary law of Indigenous Peoples over our territories and the ancestral ties with our lands and territories; we Indigenous Youth are the current and future custodians of our lands and territories. 3. Meaningfully engage with Indigenous Youth in the Action Tracks and Action Areas, recognizing Indigenous Youth as experts on resilience and sustainable food systems, keepers of first-hand experiences with extreme climatic changes, and holders of rich cultural traditional knowledge of our food systems. 4. Fully integrate an understanding of the characteristics of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems into the Summit process, as well as an understanding of the importance of these food systems for food system transformation towards resilience and sustainability, into the development of new game changing solutions, policy proposals and commitments. 5. Consider Indigenous Peoples’ food systems a game-changing solution in themselves, for their unique characteristics and holistic nature, as well as the lessons to be learned by the rest of the world from our food systems. 6. Value Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge equally as scientific knowledge. We, Indigenous Peoples, are the local observers and experts of the environment. The value of our traditional knowledge also calls for equitable inclusion, and very importantly, fair compensation as established in the Nagoya Protocol on access to benefit-sharing to traditional knowledge. 7. Work with Indigenous Peoples to establish intercultural education programmes; recognising Indigenous Youth need to learn about our traditional food systems, cultural heritage and key knowledge to sustain our food systems. 8. Develop Intellectual property legislative frameworks recognizing and protecting Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge systems. Guarantee Indigenous Peoples’ control over our Traditional Knowledge for effective intergenerational transfer of our knowledge, without the risk of misappropriation or misuse by third parties. 9. Biocentric ecological restoration must be urgently prioritized by Member States and relevant stakeholders, as it is the insurance for our collective future on the planet and the surest way to mitigate the impacts of climate change. 10. Develop emergency preparedness, response and climate change adaptation plans with us, that respect our traditional governance and decision-making processes. We have agency in our preparedness and responses. 11. Ensure that Indigenous Youth are granted access to our lands and territories in order to protect and uphold our cultural rights and carry forward our food systems. 12. Grant Indigenous Youth tailor-made affordable credit facilities to allow them financial stability to carry forward Indigenous Peoples Food Systems and to support the development of Indigenous Youth’s enterprises. Create spaces for Indigenous Peoples to sell our products. Ensure decent equal employment opportunities that guarantee labour rights free of discrimination and with social protection. 13. Develop training plans for new technologies in Indigenous languages that allow, within the framework of interculturality, to develop the capacities of Indigenous Youth to create local plans for the conservation of traditional knowledge through actions of innovation that combine ancestral knowledge with new technologies. 14. Commit to investing in infrastructure and capacity building for and by Indigenous Peoples’ communities to build accredited processing centres for foods, community gardens/growing areas for traditional foods, and connecting to composting, recycling systems and networks to reduce waste. We ask funders, private sector and government to commit funds to Indigenous-led programming and training for Indigenous Youth’s capacity development and education. We Indigenous Youth recognize the historical struggles and demands of our peoples. The struggle begun by our grandmothers and grandfathers resulted in the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which contains the basic demands and priorities for a dignified life. Today, we, the Indigenous Youth, assume the fundamental task of making these rights real and possible at all levels in the pursuit of a world where all may live in harmony with Mother Earth. We acknowledge the collaborative nature of this work, and call upon Member States, UN Agencies, NGOs, Scientific community and the Private Sector for better coordination, to stand in solidarity with us, and to value us as essential partners. At minimum, we ask all parties to ensure our inclusion and uphold existing legal frameworks, such as legal recognition and FPIC. We ask all parties to centre reciprocity in processes with Indigenous Youth and Indigenous Peoples, while respecting and valuing our knowledge and governance systems. Read less
Action Track(s): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Keywords: Data & Evidence, Environment and Climate, Finance, Governance, Human rights, Innovation, Policy, Trade-offs, Women & Youth Empowerment