Despite UN efforts throughout this International Year of Indigenous Languages to highlight the daily disappearance of mother tongues across the world, the President of the General Assembly (PGA) warned on Tuesday that “challenges persist nonetheless”.
“Every fortnight, at least one indigenous language vanishes from the face of the earth”, spelled out Tijjani Muhammad-Bande. “This translates into two extinct indigenous languages each month”.
Turning to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the President pointed out that the 2007 milestone calls on States, among other things, to enact policies and laws aimed at preserving and strengthening indigenous languages.
