HRC48 - NB8 statement - The rights of indigenous peoples

Human Rights Council – 48th session

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples

Statement by Denmark on behalf of the Nordic Baltic countries

27 September 2021

I deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries: Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country Denmark together with Greenland.

Protection of indigenous territories is central for indigenous peoples’ recovery from COVID. It promotes food security and sustainable livelihoods, and increases resilience in the face of future pandemics. 

We are concerned with the failure of governments to control illegal incursions into indigenous territories, including amnesties for illegal logging, fishing and gold prospecting in clear breach of UNDRIP.

We share the High Commissioner’s concern about attacks against the Yanomami and Munduruku peoples by illegal miners in the Amazon. In Central America, NGOs report the killing by settlers of at least 13 persons of the Miskito and Mayangna tribes. 

These are but examples, but the problem is global: More than a third of all fatal attacks on land and environmental human rights defenders target indigenous peoples. 

Mr. Special Rapporteur, what are the most pressing challenges concerning the rights of indigenous peoples in the COVID recovery?