Recall that this summit took place on 11-12 April 2024 in Washington DC. The US Institute of Peace brought together 80 indigenous leaders from around the world at the event to discuss the challenges faced daily around the world.
Several panelists of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples supported the formation of a Global Network of Indigenous Peacemakers, Negotiators and Mediators, calling it a really important endeavour.
However, here, of course, the Russian Federation decided to stand out…..
Thus, the representative of the Russian Federation stated that the involvement of indigenous peoples in peacebuilding processes “is not a generally accepted norm, obligatory for all participants in the process”. In addition, the Russian commented on the First Global Summit on Indigenous Peoples’ Peacebuilding in Washington, complaining that the rf was not involved.
“Representatives of key Russian indigenous organizations, including the Crimean Tatars, were not invited to this summit. … All restrictions should be lifted, including visa restrictions, to ensure the participation of representatives of all indigenous peoples,”- he said.
However, of course, the Crimean Tatars, an indigenous people of Ukraine, took an active part in the summit. Moreover, one of the organizers and founders of this Global Summit is the organization of the indigenous people of Ukraine – Crimean Tatar Resource Center. Therefore, the manipulations of the Russian representative remain once again an attempt to distort the facts and divert attention from the true situation.