International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2023

The Government of the Republic of Namibia has ratified the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and is part of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Annually, Namibia commemorates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on the 9^th of August. This commemoration actively promotes the rights of the Indigenous Peoples who are identified as the Indigenous Minorities/Marginalized Communities in the Namibia context namely the San, Ovatue and Ovatjimba.

The primary objective of commemorating the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is to promote and protect the Human Rights of the Indigenous People (Indigenous Minorities/Marginalized Communities); and to create awareness and advocacy on safeguarding the indigenous cultures, languages, and knowledge and serves as a cultural exchange occasion for these communities to showcase their cultural products/ practices/ dances and participate in the cultural performance competitions.

The celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples targets Indigenous People around the world of which in Namibia the target group are the Indigenous Minorities/Marginalized Communities who predominantly reside in the regions of Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, and Zambezi.

Namibia as a Member State of the United Nations joins the UN family on an annual basis in celebrating this important day. Therefore, over the past years, the Division Marginalized Communities has commemorated and hosted the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples with these communities in different regions as indicated below after the Day was officially launched at the Parliament Gardens, Windhoek, Khomas Region in 2012:

• Tsumkwe, Otjozondjupa Region in 2018
• Otjomuru, Kunene Region in 2019
• Due to financial constraints and the outbreak of COVID-19 the event was not commemorated in 2020 and 2021. However, a Press Release related to the commemoration were issued in local newspapers.
• Gobabis, Omaheke Region in 2022
• The commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples for 2023 is anticipated to take place in Outapi, Omusati region.