A United Nations-led conference to reduce plastic waste caused an uproar after discussions repeatedly excluded and dismissed the voices of Indigenous peoples.
Delegates from over 170 countries gathered in Busan, South Korea, from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 for the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution.
However, the summit failed to agree on a treaty that would curb the 350 million tons of plastic litter produced annually and also "systematically sidelined" Indigenous peoples, per a statement from the International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Plastics.
According to the release, Indigenous leaders experienced "heartache and deep pain" when they learned the revised draft of the treaty eliminated references to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the "existing rights of Indigenous Peoples."Â
The remaining language that mentioned Indigenous involvement was considered "hollow and insulting."
"This is not just an oversight; it is a deliberate dismissal of our sovereignty, our rights, and our leadership. Decisions are being made about our lands, waters, knowledge, and futures without us at the table," the statement continued.
Additionally, Heated noted that Indigenous representatives had minimal time to participate — if allowed to at all — during the country-only negotiations, despite their status as sovereign nations.
At the risk of getting their access revoked, IIPFP members stood united in protest with their fists in the air at one of the plenaries and asked for Lisa Bellanger, an Anishinaabe Ojibwe elder, to address the summit on their behalf.
"We bear the brunt of the triple planetary crisis and plastic pollution is poisoning our lands, air, waters, ice, food systems, bodies, and very existence," she said once granted the platform to speak.
Heated cited a review that found that Indigenous communities often live near polluting facilities, with plastic waste disproportionately affecting their food sources and lifestyle. Nonetheless, they serve a crucial role as "frontline land defenders," with individuals from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, and the U.S. looking to restore or rewild their land.
Tori Cress, an Anishinaabe woman from the Beausoleil First Nation and co-chair of the IIPFP, called the entire process a "violation" of the United Nations' previous resolution to recognize and protect the rights of Indigenous populations.
"We were profoundly disappointed because we were shown a complete disregard for Indigenous peoples' rights," she told Heated. "... We know that Indigenous people and our knowledge and science systems are an essential solution to ending plastic pollution."
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