In 2000, government leaders from all over the world adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs constitute a global framework for development, constituting eight goals and a number of targets to be achieved before 2015:
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
In general, the MDGs are to be achieved through national strategies. In the poorest countries, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) constitute the main framework for achieving the goals.
Indigenous and tribal peoples have the same right to benefit from the MDGs as everybody else. However, recent research undertaken by the ILO, the UN Permanent Forum on indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and others clearly show that indigenous peoples are often excluded from the MDG processes. Too little is known about indigenous peoples´ own perceptions of poverty and very few indigenous communities have had the opportunity to participate and to contribute to making the MDG strategies relevant to their needs and priorities.
There is thus a need to specifically include indigenous peoples’ concerns and priorities in the strategies to reach the MDGs. If this does not happen, there is a danger that despite improvement in the overall development of a given country, indigenous peoples’ living conditions can deteriorate and their exclusion increase. Additionally, national statistics often mask these realities, particularly in countries where indigenous peoples constitute a numerical minority.
Recognising that indigenous peoples have been largely excluded from the MDG processes, the UNPFII dedicated its Sessions in 2005 and 2006 to exploring how the MDGs can potentially include and benefit indigenous peoples. The ILO is working together with the UNPFII, the Inter Agency Support Group (IASG) and other partners to ensure that indigenous and tribal peoples will be consulted in the processes for implementing the MDGs, and that the concerns of indigenous, men, women and children will be taken into account, considering their holistic understanding of their own needs.