The Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis has urged the government to reconcile
development, both social and cultural, with the protection of indigenous
peoples and their territories, reports NaijaAgroNet.
Pope Francis made this call in Rome,
Italy while in audience with the representatives of IFAD's Global Meeting of
the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, which focused on economic empowerment of
indigenous peoples, particularly women and youth.
This call has become vital especially when planning economic
activities that may interfere with their cultures and their ancestral
relationship to the earth.
The 36-member
delegation, which included representatives from the UN’s International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD), were in Rome to take part in the Third Global
Meeting of the Indigenous People Forum of IFAD.
During the morning
meeting, the Pope emphasized the need for governments to pay attention to
indigenous identity, and to generate guidelines and development approaches that
include young people and women.
“For governments this
means recognizing that indigenous communities are a part of the population to
be appreciated and consulted, and whose full participation should be promoted
at the local and national level,” he said.
Mirna Cunningham, President
of the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Autonomy and Development (CADPI), headed
the delegation.
"I think the Pope's
words are important," she said. "He went straight to the point. We
have to remember that technological and economic development is not progress in
itself and IFAD can play a very big role with technical and financial support
to ensure that these measure are considered with indigenous peoples."
Antonella Cordone,
Coordinator for Indigenous and Tribal Issues Policy and Technical Advisory Division
at IFAD, said that “recognizing and institutionalizing indigenous peoples’
rights is essential, but we also have to work to set self-implementation
strategies to support local economies. Otherwise we risk that indigenous
peoples’ societies will disappear.”
Members of the
delegation brought gifts to illustrate the work of indigenous peoples around
the world, including an alpaca coat from Bolivian Andes, a blanket from the
Igorot people in the Philippine Cordillera, and a bible translated into Miskitu
from Nicaragua.
NaijaAgroNet recalled that
between 10th and 13th February, IFAD hosted the Third Global Meeting of the
Indigenous Peoples Forum, bringing together representatives of indigenous
peoples organizations and leaders of partner organizations to discuss the
ongoing challenges faced by these communities.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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