Welcome to the United Nations
Indigenous peoples suffer great risk of suicide. For example, in some regions the suicide rate among young indigenous women and men is five to six times the rate of non-indigenous youths. Some communities report even higher rates. The alarming over-representation of suicide among indigenous youth was one of the main topics during the two-week long 14th session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which concludes on 1 May.
Around the globe today, one out of five people is between the ages of 15 and 24. Among the estimated 370 million indigenous people in the world, there are over 70 million indigenous youth. Their situation received special attention during the forum, when the issue of indigenous youth suicide and self-harm was addressed.
“Our current reality does not reflect the necessary elements that produce physical, spiritual, emotional and mental health,” stated E’Sha Hoferer and Ida Ophaug on behalf of the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus. “We are continually faced by extreme poverty, loss and rejection of identity, destruction of traditional languages and cultural practices,” they stressed, also pointing to examples of threats undermining the health and future of indigenous youth.
To read more, please click here.
Source & Copyright: UNDESA