UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday warned that indigenous people endure systematic discrimination and exclusion, noting that efforts must be made to protect their rights.

"On this international day, we must remember and highlight that indigenous peoples in many parts of the world still do not enjoy basic rights. They endure systematic discrimination and exclusion which threaten their ways of life, cultures and identities," the UN deputy chief told the commemoration event of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples held at the UN headquarters in New York.

"Such barriers are compounded for indigenous women and girls, who also face gender-based violence and discrimination," said Mohammed, adding "the promise of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals is to leave no one behind and to reach the furthest behind first."

"We must make every effort to enable indigenous peoples to fully enjoy their rights as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," she said.

Noting that almost half of the world's estimated 6,700 languages are in danger of disappearing and most of these belong to indigenous peoples, the UN deputy chief said that "we must do more for indigenous languages to flourish, so we may retain the wealth of knowledge and cultures that are part of the world's rich diversity."

"That is our strength and not our weakness," she said.

"Education has a pivotal role to play in ensuring that indigenous peoples can enjoy and preserve their culture and identity," said the deputy secretary-general.

"Intercultural and multi-lingual education will be necessary to prevent irreparable loss," she noted.

The UN deputy chief warned that failure to provide multilingual and inter-cultural education "puts indigenous peoples at a disadvantage, threatening their very survival."

"The United Nations stands ready to support all initiatives aimed at realizing the rights and aspirations of indigenous peoples, including through its system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples," she said.

"On this international day, let us reaffirm our commitment to work together to realize the rights of indigenous peoples, sooner rather than later," said Mohammed.

On Dec. 23, 1994, the UN General Assembly decided, in its resolution 49/214, that the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples shall be observed on Aug. 9 every year.

The date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations. On this day, people from around the world are encouraged to spread the UN's message on the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples.

This year marks "the International Year of Indigenous Languages." The celebration features a high-level segment, followed by a panel discussion and an interactive segment with a number of guest speakers and indigenous experts. The event also features an innovation hub on creative initiatives on indigenous languages. Enditem

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