From the Inuit in the Arctic to the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific, and from the Kuna in Panama to the Somali in North East Kenya, Indigenous Peoples all over the world are already dramatically impacted by climate change. In addition, Indigenous Peoples are amongst the economically most marginalised in the world. Moreover, most Indigenous Peoples are very dependent upon their natural environment, thus the contraction of forests, coastlines and polar ecosystems destroy the very basis of their livelihoods.

 This vulnerability would be reason enough to give Indigenous Peoples a strong voice in the climate regime which they are not. Yet it is worth noting the special status of Indigenous Peoples is clearly recognised by international law including the International Labor Organization and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The establishment of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues five years ago also focused on their special status and participation rights in international policy making.

 So why are Indigenous Peoples still being ignored in the climate regime? Despite repeated requests, Indigenous Peoples have not been given special status in Nairobi. When they registered for this meeting they could only enter the building as “NGOs”. While this might seem like a minor detail, it is not. Agenda 21 already pointed out that Indigenous Peoples are not NGOs; they are Peoples. For that reason, a process like the Convention on Biodiversity has long since established a clear special status for Indigenous Peoples’ organisations, with speaking rights, badges, meeting room and, most importantly, specific rights to participate in negotiations that are affecting them. In most expert groups under the Biodiversity Convention there is a specific seat for representatives of Indigenous and local communities.

Additionally, it is important to note that the effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in the Climate Convention is not only of interest to them. As the Indigenous Forum points out: “Indigenous territories and lands cover a vast variety of the world’s fragile, important and diverse ecosystems. The protection and conservation of these lands by Indigenous Peoples as the custodians through uncounted generations, is the lands’ best hope of survival and the best defence against the worst elements of climate change and its impacts.”

 So if mitigating climate change is top of the agenda, it is time to start listening to those people who have made a positive contribution to this planet, and are now becoming the main victim of those who failed to do so.