A/75/185 15. The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 17 and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 18 have urged that indigenous peoples’ health and lives be protected and for immediate steps to be taken to ensure that indigenous peoples are informed, protected and prioritized. A joint call by the Chairs of the United Nations treaty bodies urged Governments to give particular attention to the effects of COVID-19 on indigenous peoples. 19 B. Risks and resilience 16. COVID-19 presents significant risks for indigenous peoples, whose health in many countries is not as good as that of the rest of society, 20 including due to a higher rate of pre-existing health conditions, poor access to health care and socioenvironmental factors that contribute to a low immune system. Health risks 17. Indigenous collective memory is marked by pandemics, as diseases su ch as smallpox, measles and influenza were spread by colonizers, sometimes deliberately, ravaging and decimating their communities. 21 In the COVID-19 pandemic, indigenous peoples have already reported alarming levels of transmission among their communities 22 and sometimes higher rates of fatalities. 23 18. Respiratory infections, diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses and HIV/AIDS, as well as malnutrition, are already common in many indigenous populations. Often depending on fragile ecosystems for their subsistence, they also suffer particular health impacts from environmental degradation, including pollution of water resources on their traditional lands caused by extractive industries and pesticides from monoculture. Indigenous persons with chronic health conditions or disabilities requiring regular medical check-ups or treatment experience disproportionately the consequences of lockdown measures, overwhelmed national health systems and depletion of medical equipment. 19. Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation have reduced immunity to imported diseases and are farther from medical services if they contract a disease. In the Amazon, these peoples are already on the brink of cultural extinction. They report exponential rates of transmission of the virus introduced by logging and mining workers, religious missionaries 24 and, in certain cases, health professionals who had not been tested for COVID or quarantined themselves before entering their territories. 20. Mental health issues and substance abuse are reportedly on the increase, particularly in urban contexts of overcrowded housing. The lack of face -to-face __________________ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 8/27 See https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2020/ 04/EMPRIP-English.pdf. See https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenous-peoples-es/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/ 2020/04/UNPFII-Chair-statement_COVID19.pdf. See https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25742&LangID=E . See Laurence Kirmayer, “Addressing global health disparities among Indigenous peoples”, The Lancet, vol. 388, No. 10040 (9 July 2016). Available at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30194-5/fulltext. David M Morens, Gregory K Folkers and Anthony S Fauci, “Emerging infections: a perpetual challenge” The Lancet, vol. 8 (November 2008), p. 713. Available at https://www.thelancet.com/ action/showPdf?pii=S1473-3099%2808%2970256-1. Submissions by Rede Pró-Yanomami e Ye’kwana and Carmela Roybal (University of New Mexico). Joint submission by the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organ izations of the Brazilian Amazon and the Indian Law Resource Center, and submission by National Congress of American Indians. Joint submission by the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon and the Indian Law Resource Center. 20-09737