Delegates took up the discussion of language by illustrating the threats indigenous languages face and examining ways to protect unique languages for future generations.

Below is an article published by UNPO:

Delegates spent Thursday 24 April 2008 discussing the implementation to date of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the six areas of economic and social development, environment, health, education, culture, and human rights with which the UNPFII had been mandated since 2002 when it was first convened.

The issue of education was raised, and the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the right to education, Mr. Vernon Munoz, highlighted how poverty was limiting the education of disadvantaged children, in particular, those from indigenous peoples. 

Representatives taking up the topic included Ms. Sothy Kien of the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation.  Ms. Kien asked delegates to support her calls for the Forum to facilitate a dialogue between the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom community and the Vietnamese authorities.  A dialogue was needed to encourage the recognition of the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom as an indigenous people living within Viet Nam, something which is currently disavowed.  Ms. Kien also stated the belief that there was scope for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to establish vocational training programmes which could assist indigenous group in achieving the targets laid out in the MDGs.  The risk at present was that the targets would not be met unless some action was taken.

Praise was directed at the Australian government for the formal apology it made in 2008 to the Aboriginals of the so-called Stolen Generation and delegates supported government pledges to improve the health of indigenous people within Australia.  The gap in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous people in Australia has been a concern for decades and action on the problem has long been overdue, despite repeated efforts to raise the visibility of the issue. 

A representative from the Russian Federation also took the opportunity to highlight the moves that had been made within the Federation to place greater visibility on the rights of indigenous peoples.  This had taken the form of a new Constitution which used the reference ‘indigenous people’ as an official term, and recognized indigenous peoples’ rights to land and resources.  Language and cultural autonomy were key among these rights the representative stated.

In May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly declared 2008 to be the International Year of Languages.  Building on this theme the afternoon session of the UNPFII on the fourth day was dedicated to indigenous languages.  The issue of linguistic rights prompted comment from Mr. Legborsi Saro Pyagbara of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).  Mr. Pyagbara expressed his concerns over the Nigerian government’s promotion of the Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa majority languages at the expense of Ogoni.  The resulting marginalisation would, if it went unaddressed, lead to a “cultural genocide” of Ogoni linguistic heritage.

The need to engage indigenous groups was also taken up by Ms Mary Simat of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee (IPACC).  Ms Simat focused on the need of international bodies such as the World Bank and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to engage more proactively with local groups, such as the IPACC, in the field of educating local groups of their rights and the use of sustainable technologies in a variety of everyday fields.

The UNPFII will next re-convene on Monday 28 April 2008, Friday 25 April being Orthodox Easter.  Under discussion will be the situation of human rights among indigenous peoples.