MYRNA CUNNINGHAM, President of the Board of Directors of the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic hit indigenous people particularly hard due to, inter alia, such peoples’ limited access to basic services.  In response, indigenous peoples implemented measures of self-government in line with their traditions, in their own languages, to safeguard their cultural heritage.  Indigenous peoples have much to contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda and to tackling critical environmental and economic situations.  She called on the international community to ensure access to vaccines, to overcome the technological and digital divide and to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  A United Nations that enjoys the full, effective participation of indigenous peoples would make the world better than it is today, she added.

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