UN chief urges global action to protect Indigenous rights amid environmental threats

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday praised Indigenous peoples as the "great guardians of nature" while warning that they face disproportionate threats from climate change and illegal resource extraction.

Speaking at the opening of the 25th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Guterres noted that those from the Amazon to the Arctic serve as a "living library of biodiversity conservation."

He emphasized that those who contributed the least to global environmental problems frequently pay the heaviest price.

Guterres highlighted the severe impact of unlicensed logging and illegal mining, noting that pollutants like mercury and cyanide are poisoning soil and rivers. He argued that for these communities, "water is life sacred and central to identity and survival," with contamination causing intergenerational health consequences.

“All member states must honor their commitments and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” the secretary-general said, calling for these rights to be embedded in national legislation. He insisted that governments must ensure "free, prior and informed consent" for any actions affecting ancestral territories and resources.

Guterres urged direct participation of Indigenous peoples in decision-making, the protection of human rights defenders, and the empowerment of Indigenous women.

He said countries "must ensure the full, meaningful and direct participation of Indigenous peoples at all levels supported by adequate and sustained financing," noting this must "extend beyond global forums to national and local levels."

Guterres stressed that societies must take "immediate and concrete steps" to address the violence and risks "Indigenous peoples, their leaders and human rights defenders" face.