Director of FAO Geneva, Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, today delivered the keynote address to the 2019 cohort of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Indigenous Fellowship Programme. "At FAO, our goal is a world without hunger and malnutrition where everyone has access to enough healthy food at all times, and where our natural resources are sustainably utilized. Regrettably, hunger is on the rise again with more than 821 million people affected. It is no secret that Indigenous Peoples count among the poorest and most vulnerable in our world, representing 5% of the world's population but 15% of its poorest. It is therefore imperative that we lose no time in redoubling our efforts to change this situation" said the Director.

Sharing the head table with Chief of Section for Indigenous Peoples and Minorites of OHCHR, Mr. Paulo David, Ambassador Salman Bal, Director of International Geneva Welcome Centre and several others, she went on to outline that Indigenous Peoples are also great practitioners on sustainable development, serving as guardians for almost 80% of the world's biodiversity.

Highlighting several challenges that affect Indigenous peoples directly – landlessness, climate change, food insecurity, among others - the Director encouraged the fellows to continue their advocacy and their work in their communities and countries. She assured them that FAO will continue to intensify its work with Indigenous Peoples at all levels, including with partners such as OHCHR whom the Organization has been collaborating with over the past years. This includes training in Geneva and providing opportunities for fellows as interns and volunteers at FAO offices across the world.

The OHCHR Indigenous Fellowship Programme is a comprehensive human rights training programme, which brings together Indigenous Peoples from across the globe for a one month training period in Geneva. FAO contributes to this training with sessions conducted by its experts working on Indigenous issues.