International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples launched in 1994 by the UN General Assembly in honor of the first meeting on indigenous peoples held in 1982. It is celebrated every year on August 9 as a sign of the international community’s desire to preserve the culture and rights of indigenous peoples who have always lived in a certain territory and until now have preserved the identity of a separate nation, political system and cultural values. After all, in many countries of the world, they are subject to assimilation and discrimination.

Today, their number in the world is about 370 million people, who are scattered in 80 countries. An international document, the Declaration confirming the rights of indigenous peoples, was adopted in 2008. It establishes standards designed to ensure the survival of indigenous peoples and the preservation of their customs.

• In Ukraine, Crimean Tatars, Karaites, Gagauz, Crimean Greeks and Krymchaks are considered indigenous. Throughout their history, these peoples have repeatedly suffered from repression.