A/76/202
has been a catalyst for States to promote mega projects without adequate consultation
with indigenous communities. 17
17. Globally, the adverse effects of climate change, including wildfires, deforestation,
drought, rising sea levels, degradation of coral reefs and other natural disasters, are
exacerbating the migration and urbanization of indigenous peoples. 18 According to
UN-Habitat, indigenous peoples who are forced to migrate as a result of climate
change often end up in precarious housing in the poorest urban areas, which are prone
to natural disasters and environmental pollution. 19
18. In sub-Saharan Africa, drought causes the migration of nomadic indigenous
peoples. Droughts induced by climate change are forcing Tuareg herders to abandon
traditional pastoralism practices and move to cities. 20
19. In some cases, climate change initiatives can lead to forced eviction of
indigenous peoples, directly threatening traditional livelihoods, crops and livestock,
housing, access to lands and resources, employment and basic services. 21 In Asia, the
establishment of national parks and protected areas has caused forced relocation, the
destruction of livelihoods and the arrest of many indigenous villagers living in those
areas, forcing them to abandon their traditional subsistence activities. 22
C.
Challenges and obstacles
20. Urbanization provides opportunities, but may also entail poverty, racism,
stigmatization, discrimination and marginalization. Reports show that indigenous
peoples often live in marginalized urban areas in which their rights and cultural needs
are not effectively addressed by public policies or urban planning. 23 Indigenous
peoples who voluntarily relocate, or are forcibly relocated, to urban areas encounter
barriers to access to adequate health care, safe drinking water and sanitation,
culturally appropriate education, employment opportunities and adequate housing.
1.
Employment
21. Data strongly suggest that indigenous peoples who leave their traditional
territories experience persistent social and economic inequalities stemming from
unemployment, 24 underemployment 25 and lower wages 26 and that they are
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18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
8/20
A/75/185.
A/HRC/36/46; A/HRC/45/34/Add.3; and Douglas Nakashima, Igor Krupnik and Jennifer T. Rubis,
eds., Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation (Cambridge, United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Cambridge University Press, 2018), p. 67.
UN-Habitat, Securing Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples in Cities, pp. 21, 23 and 24; and Carolyn
Stephens, “The indigenous experience of urbanization”, in State of the World’s Minorities and
Indigenous Peoples 2015: Events of 2014 (London, Minority Rights Group International, 2015), p. 57.
E/C.19/2021/6, para. 14.
UN-Habitat, Securing Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples in Cities, p. 21, and E/C.19/2021/6.
A/HRC/45/34/Add.3.
E/C.19/2021/6, paras. 9–10.
Submission by the UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office, UNICEF country
offices in Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil and Guyana and UNICEF New Zealand, p. 4.
A/HRC/36/46/Add.2. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), in Australia, Aboriginal peoples, who make up 3.3 per cent of the total population, are
less likely to be employed in a professional setting. OECD, Indigenous Employment and Skills
Strategies in Australia (Paris, OECD, 2019).
ILO, Implementing the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169 , pp. 15 and 18;
and submission by the UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office, UNICEF country
offices in Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil and Guyana and UNICEF New Zealand.
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