Pasmun Jr: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Urbanization of Autonomous Indigenous Habitats

COMMITTEE: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

TOPIC: Urbanization of Autonomous Indigenous Habitats

ROOM: 102

CHAIR: Gropp Zoé y Dresser Cruz Pierre

Indigenous peoples worldwide are vulnerable to a range of social and economic factors that affect their human rights.They tend to lack access to education, to live on lands that are vulnerable to natural disasters, with inadequate or no sanitation and poor access if any, to health services; all of which contribute to lower productivity and incomes among indigenous populations. At the same time, their limited political power means that they are unable to use the political system to improve their position.
Indigenous peoples that migrate to urban areas face particular and often additional challenges, most prominently unemployment, limited access to services and inadequate housing. In addition, indigenous peoples in urban areas may experience discrimination and have difficulties in sustaining their language, identity and culture and educating future generations which can result in a loss of indigenous heritage and values.
Many young indigenous people find themselves in a “no man’s land” between the urban societies that do not fully accept them and their indigenous communities that often fail to offer them the opportunities they need and desire.

“The forced displacement of many indigenous communities by development projects is resulting in extreme impoverishment and contributing to urban drift. In the cities, indigenous peoples suffer major disparities in all measurable areas such as lower wages, lack of employment, skills and education; poor health, housing and criminal convictions. They live in poor human settlements outside the support of traditional community and culture.”

However, migration can also be a positive experience, providing more and better opportunities for indigenous peoples in the area of employment and education, with income generated by urban indigenous peoples often used to support families in their communities of origin.
In some instances, indigenous peoples have been able to adapt and improve their situations, preserving their indigenous identities while maximizing the benefits of urban society.