Montreal, 10 December 2022
The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) underscores the importance of ensuring a rights-based approach in the implementation of Target 3 of the global biodiversity framework, specifically including “protecting and respecting” our rights.
Agenda item.1 Opening of the meeting (07.12.202)
Statement on behalf of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) delivered by John Cheechoo, Assembly of First Nation (AFN), Kenneth Deer Indigenous World Association
Amidst the strength and power of the Columbia and Spokane Rivers in the ancestral territories of the Spokane Tribe, there is a group of language warriors with the dream of keeping their languages alive. They run the Language House of Spokane using an immersion strategy to increase the number of fluent adult speakers.
From December 7-19, 2022, in Montreal, Canada, the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) is bringing together the countries who are parties to the Convention and various observer stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples.
On November 29, 2022, the Caribbean Court of Justice heard arguments in the case Maya Leaders Alliance v The Attorney General of Belize regarding the compliance of the State of Belize with the court’s 2015 decision in favor of Maya land rights.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.