Indigenous Peoples' Statement at UNFSS Declaración de los pueblos indígenas en UNFSS

I am delighted that this Statement represents the views of all 7 socio-cultural regions of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples’ food systems are the basis of our identities, well-being, livelihoods, and survival.

Our resiliency is based on the health of our ecosystems and full recognition of our rights to land and water. We are sustained by our traditional ways of knowing and inter-generational knowledge systems, cultures, and spirituality.

To ensure the resiliency of our Indigenous Food Systems in a changing climate, we require recognition of our rights to our lands, waters, and forests.

We, as Indigenous Youth, commit to strengthening our participation in all aspects of our Food Systems to ensure sustainability and resiliency.

 We call upon States and the UN System to commit to respect, uphold, and fully implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples required for the resilience of our food systems, including, Free Prior and Informed Consent, and self-determination.

In this regard, we are very pleased with the emerging Indigenous Peoples’ food systems coalition that aims to ensure understanding, respect, recognition, inclusion, and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems, even after the UN Food Systems Summit. (18 seconds)

We appreciate the support from the Member States, notably from Canada, Dominican Republic, Finland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain, and other strategic partners including the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, The Global Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems, FAO, IFAD, and WFP.