Business
Sustainable Development Goals: Indigenous Peoples in Focus
Publishers Note: While there are many people working on the SDG’s, many of the voices are excluded and marginilized. We wish to amplify and mobilize the knowledge and actions from all groups working towards a better co-existence.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that decent work is both a means and an end to achieve sustainable development and eradicate poverty. Accordingly, the ILO Decent Work Agenda has a fundamental role to play in mitigating the specific social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities of indigenous peoples, and tackling their high levels of poverty.
Their traditional ways of life, livelihoods and practices are increasingly under threat owing to a range of factors, including lack of recognition and protection of their rights, exclusionary public policies, and the impacts of climate change.
A combination of issues such as loss of access to traditional lands and natural resources, discrimination in the world of work, forced migration, and poor access to opportunities have rendered them still more vulnerable in social and economic terms. Indigenous women, in particular, are exposed to multiple forms of discrimination and exploitation from both within and outside their communities. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework provides a historic opportunity to address such issues and ensure that indigenous peoples too are not left behind.