A/RES/72/210 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 23 January 2018 Seventy-second session Agenda item 19 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2017 [on the report of the Second Committee (A/72/420)] 72/210. International Year of Camelids, 2024 The General Assembly, Noting that camelids are strictly herbivorous, even-toed ungulate mammals that first appeared in America 45 million years ago, Noting also that there are six living species of camelids, namely, dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos, in North Africa, South-West and Central Asia, Oceania and South America, Noting further that camelids constitute the main means of subsistence for millions of poor families that live in the most hostile ecosystems on the planet, and that they contribute to the fight against hunger, the eradication of extreme poverty, the empowerment of women and the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, Recognizing that comprehensive management of the products derived from camelids would promote the inclusion of the most vulnerable populations of rural societies, leading to the creation of sustainable jobs and promoting equality, and further recognizing that these species are an important element of the cultural and spiritual identity of ancestral indigenous peoples, constituting an important social basis of the traditional and contemporary knowledge of these peoples who have maintained, preserved and protected genetic biodiversity, Noting that camelids are a main source of protein, fibre for clothes and fertilizer for agricultural production, and that they serve as pack animals, transporting people and products in indigenous communities throughout South America ’s extensive Andean highlands, as well as in deserts in Africa and Asia, Noting also that camelids can play a key role in addressing the effects of climate change, in particular in arid and semi-arid lands, and that recognition, advocacy and support for the promotion of the products and services that they provide is of paramount importance for the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them, 17-23277 (E) 260118 *1723277*