Around 40 percent of the world’s 6,700 spoken languages are in danger of disappearing, and many of them belong to indigenous peoples. But this trend can be reversed, said Mona Rishmawi of the UN Human Rights Office. Rishmawi made her statement during a panel discussion at the Human Rights Council.

The UN Human Rights offices in Guatemala and Mexico advocate for the rights of an indigenous migrant who faces prolonged detention in a State prison in Mexico, after she was kidnapped by smugglers near the country’s border with the US.

A new report by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples highlights the negative impact of commonly practiced conservation policies on indigenous communities. This need not be the case.

Charlene Apok believes there are many obstacles facing indigenous peoples when they try to advocate for their rights at an international level. “This system was not made for us,” she said. Apok, a member of the Iñupiaq tribe in the USA, was a recent UN Human Rights Office Indigenous Fellow.