Rights of indigenous peoples highlighted in UN photo exhibit

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New York/Canadian-Media: The rights of indigenous people to make decisions about their cultural heritage and traditional way of life are being recognized in a United Nations photo exhibition.

Adults (left to right) from the Omo River, Ethiopia, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, and Taimyr Peninsula, Russia feature in the photo exhibition. Image credit: Alexander Khimushin

The UN estimates there are some 476 million indigenous people in more than 90 countries around the world who have been denied the opportunity to control their own political, social, economic, and cultural development.

Adults (left to right) from the Omo River, Ethiopia, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, and Taimyr Peninsula, Russia feature in the photo exhibition. Image credit: Alexander Khimushin

​The images collected in the World in Faces exhibition showcase the diversity of indigenous cultures on every continent and have been released to coincide with the 20th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) which is currently underway online and in person at UN Headquarters in New York.

The meeting is bringing together people to discuss the role of indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 16 which is focused on promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies.