What is the IDIL 2022-2032

International Decades are important cooperation mechanisms dedicated to raising awareness on a particular topic or theme of global interest or concern and mobilizing different players for coordinated action around the world. 

Following the 2016 Resolution 71/178 on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming the period of 2022-2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, based on a recommendation by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The proclamation of the IDIL2022-2032 is a key outcome of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL2019). 

In 2016, the Permanent Forum stated that 40 per cent of the estimated 6,700 languages spoken around the world were in danger of disappearing. The fact that most of these are Indigenous languages puts the cultures and knowledge systems to which they belong at risk. 

In addition to this, Indigenous peoples are often isolated both politically and socially in their countries of residence by virtue of geographical remoteness or historical, cultural, and linguistic inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the marginalization of Indigenous peoples around the world, having a negative impact on the world’s linguistic diversity. 

Indigenous peoples are not only leaders in protecting the environment, but their languages represent complex systems of knowledge and communication and should therefore be recognized as a strategic national resource for sustainable development, peacebuilding and reconciliation. 

Indigenous languages also promote local cultures, customs and values which have endured for thousands of years. Indigenous languages add to the rich tapestry of global cultural diversity. Without them, the world would be a poorer place. 

The IDIL2022-2032 will help promote and protect Indigenous languages and improve the lives of those who speak and sign them and will contribute to achieving the objectives set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The International Decade of Indigenous Languages offers us a unique opportunity to collaborate in policy development, to ensure continuity and coherence of actions and stimulate an intercultural dialogue in the true spirit of multi-stakeholder engagement, to contribute to making human rights a reality, and to take necessary measures in an interdisciplinary manner to support and strengthen Indigenous languages around the world. The scope of work envisaged during the International Decade is beyond the capacity of any single nation, country, stakeholder group, generation, scientific discipline, policy framework or set of actions. So, the International Decade presents a unique framework for convening a wide range of stakeholders collectively to align their efforts, accelerate development plans, make strategic investments, set research and legislative agendas, and launch concrete initiatives around common goals.