Keynote Adress by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
Dr. Albert K. Barume
Global Indigenous Languages Summit,
Ottawa, 14th August, 2025
Distinguished delegates, Indigenous leaders, youth, colleagues, and friends,
It is an honor to address this important and inspiring Global Summitt on a matter that goes to the very heart of Indigenous Peoples’ identity, dignity, and survival — the protection and revitalization of Indigenous languages. I thank Commissioner Dr. Ronald E. Ignace and the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous languages for their kind invitation.
Before I proceed, I would like to recognize and thank the Algonquin Nation for welcoming us on their ancestral lands and territories. I would also like to recognise current and former United Nations experts on Indigenous Peoples here present, including Chief Wilton Littlechild, Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, Professor Sheryl Lightfoot, Aluki Kotierk, and others.
Language is not only a means of communication. For Indigenous Peoples, it carries the collective memory of their ancestors, the oral transmission of law and governance, the expression of spiritual beliefs, and the intricate knowledge of lands, waters, and ecosystems. It is a vessel of identity, belonging, and continuity. Languages are also living open libraries for Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous languages were among the first to be assaulted by colonisation because silencing ones’ language is shutting down their cultural soul, disconnecting them from their histories, emptying their collective memories and thereby making them vulnerable to subjugation.
As a remedial legal instrument, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007, is unequivocal in affirming, in Articles 13 and 14, the rights of Indigenous Peoples to revitalize, use, develop, and transmit to future generations their languages, and to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages. The Declaration is equally clear in establishing the corresponding duty of States to take the necessary measures to effectively protect and fulfil these rights, including by ensuring that Indigenous children have access to education in their own languages.
These provisions of the Declaration are not isolated; nor do they establish new or special rights for Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration reformulate fundamental human rights, as set forth in established international treaties and conventions, with the view to adjusting them to the context of Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations Treaty Bodies have indeed consistently addressed the issue of Indigenous Peoples’ languages, as illustrated by the few following examples. The Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended that a State “protect and preserve the cultural identify … of Indigenous Peoples by fostering an enabling environment for [their languages]”.[1] This Committee has also raised concerns about “Indigenous languages’ [invisibility] in mainstream media”.[2] The Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women has similarly concluded that a State should ensure “adequate opportunities for Indigenous girls and women to receive instructions in their own languages”.[3]
Yet, despite this clear framework, it has been assessed that at least 40% of the world’s languages are endangered, the majority of them Indigenous. More specifically, “it is estimated that one indigenous language dies every two weeks”.[4] In some regions, entire generations have already lost fluency in their Indigenous languages, leading to an irreplaceable loss of cultural and traditional knowledge.
The three United Nations’s mechanisms on Indigenous Peoples; notably the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) have continuously highlighted the importance and urgency of protecting Indigenous languages, as key pillar of Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination.
A 2012 EMRIP report on the topic affirmed that Indigenous languages are central to identity, dignity, and self-determination. It stressed that language loss is the direct result of colonization and assimilationist policies, and that States have a duty — under UNDRIP and other human rights instruments — to protect, revitalize, and promote Indigenous languages in partnership with Indigenous Peoples. The report called for urgent, sustained action in education, media, public life, and law to ensure these languages flourish for future generations.
A 2015 EMRIP study on Indigenous Peoples’ cultural heritage equally underscored the centrality of languages to cultural heritage and recommended urgent action to prevent further loss.
These reports and subsequent EMRIP advice, which I recommend all participants to revisit, highlight that language erosion is not natural — it is the product of historical and ongoing marginalization, racial discrimination, assimilationist policies, and insufficient State support. States bear the primary responsibility of revitalizing Indigenous languages. After all, any one responsible for breaking something has the primary responsibility to fix it.
It is in recognition of both the need and urgency that the United Nations proclaimed the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), to draw global attention to the critical situation of many Indigenous languages and to mobilize stakeholders and resources for their preservation, revitalization and promotion.
The Decade provides us with a global framework to reverse the tide of loss, to scale-up successful initiatives, and to foster partnerships between States, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, and other stakeholders.
Challenges remain significant and they include:
- Intergenerational disruption caused by residential schools, forced assimilation, and displacement that continues to affect language transmission within families and communities.
- Insufficient resources for community-led language education, teacher training, and curriculum development.
- Dominance of national and global languages in media, technology, and education systems that further marginalizes Indigenous languages.
- Inadequate legal protections and lack of recognition in constitutions, legislations, and official public life that undermine the status of Indigenous languages.
- Digital divide and limited access to technology that prevent many Indigenous Peoples from using modern tools to support language revitalization.
Despite these challenges, there is progress worth recognizing and building on:
- Many States have recognized Indigenous languages in law and support bilingual education.
- There are also Indigenous-led initiatives for languages revival, including apprentice programs, radio stations, podcasts, and mobile apps developed by Indigenous Peoples themselves.
- One should also note Cross-border and regional cooperation, enabling Indigenous Peoples to share methodologies, resources, and best practices[5].
- And finally, digital technologies are increasingly used to document, archive, and teach languages in culturally appropriate ways, with Indigenous control over data and intellectual property.
The leadership demonstrated by Indigenous youth in revitalizing Indigenous languages is of significant importance, ensuring these languages remain visible and relevant within modern contexts. Likewise, the contributions of Indigenous women are essential, as they play a key role in transmitting linguistic and cultural values to future generations.
To build on these gains and address persistent gaps, we need States to step up their actions to:
- Fully implement UNDRIP, particularly Articles 13 and 14, ensuring legal recognition of Indigenous languages
- Co-create policies and programs with Indigenous Peoples, ensuring that funding is predictable, sustained, and adequate to support long-term revitalization.
- Integrate Indigenous languages into public life— in courts, public administration, health services, and media.
- Support Indigenous-controlled education systems and provide scholarships, teacher training, and curriculum resources.
- Bridge the digital divide by ensuring connectivity and supporting Indigenous Peoples’ creation of digital tools and platforms in Indigenous languages, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications.
For Indigenous Peoples and their organizations:
- Prioritize intergenerational transmission— encourage home use, storytelling, ceremonies, and mentorship between elders and youth.
- Leverage the International Decade to forge partnerships, secure resources, and advocate for stronger legal protection, including a legally Treaty on Indigenous language.
- Harness technology strategically, ensuring that digitization, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, and online teaching are done under Indigenous control and with respect for cultural protocols.
- Build alliances across borders with other Indigenous Peoples to share resources, teacher training, and revitalization strategies.
- Make Indigenous women play key roles on languages revival initiatives.
- Support youth leadership in language revitalization, especially in social media, digital arts, and AI innovation.
The International Decade of Indigenous Languages holds substantive significance beyond symbolic value. It is a call to action, grounded in the human rights framework and informed by the lived experiences and solutions by Indigenous Peoples themselves.
We must remember that when a language falls silent, the world loses more than words — it loses a unique way of knowing, a distinct vision of humanity’s relationship with the Earth, and an irreplaceable contribution to our shared future. That is a loss we cannot afford.
Let us act for Indigenous languages with the urgency this matter demands, and with the respect and partnership that Indigenous Peoples deserve.
I Thank you.
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NOTES
[1] Thailand, CERD/C/THA/CO/4-8, 10 February 2022
[2] Chile, CERD/C/CHL/CO/22-23, 9 December 2021
[3] Peru, CEDAW/C/PER/CO/9, 1 March 2022
[4] See UNPFII’s statemennt at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/04/Indigenous-Languages.pdf
[5] The Sami of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia collaborate through their parliaments and universities to share teaching materials and train language teachers. Guarani-speaking communities in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia coordinate through MERCOSUR to harmonize orthography and curricula. Quechua and Aymara educators in the Andes exchange teachers and resources between Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, while the Inuit, Yupik, and Chukchi of the Arctic jointly develop digital lexicons and e-learning platforms. These partnerships show that language revitalization can transcend borders, enabling communities to share methodologies, pool resources, and inspire one another.
