UN COP16 Nature Summit Creates Permanent Body for Indigenous Peoples

FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo
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UN COP16 Nature Summit Creates Permanent Body for Indigenous Peoples

FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo

Countries at the UN COP16 summit on nature on Friday approved a measure to create a permanent body for Indigenous peoples to consult on United Nations decisions about nature conservation.
The consultative body is considered a breakthrough in recognizing the role that Indigenous peoples play in conserving nature globally, including some of the most biodiverse areas of the planet, according to Indigenous and environmental advocates, reported Reuters.
Nearly 200 countries convened in the Columbian city of Cali aiming to implement the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreement, which aims to halt the rapid decline of nature by 2030.
The consultative body, which will also extend to local communities, will help to incorporate traditional knowledge and practices into conservation efforts.
Countries also adopted a measure that recognizes the role of people of African descent in caring for nature, which COP16 host Colombia said would grant such communities easier access to resources to fund their biodiversity projects and participate in global environmental discussions.
The measure's adoption was met with chants and singing by campaigners, as well as words of thanks from Colombia Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, who said the breakthrough was particularly important for Latin America and the Caribbean.
"Our territories, which cover much of the natural wealth of the planet, have also been home to people of African descent and Indigenous peoples whose sustainable practices are needed to face the environmental challenges that we all share today," Murillo said.
Earlier in the week, Armenia was announced as the host of COP17, which will be held in 2026.



North Korea, Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Partnership Accord

A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024.  EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024. EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
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North Korea, Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Partnership Accord

A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024.  EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024. EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT

The foreign ministers of North Korea and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to implement provisions agreed in June between the leaders of the two nations, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Saturday.
North Korea Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and her Russian counterpart Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov met in Moscow, amid rising concerns about Pyongyang's involvement in Moscow's war in Ukraine, Reuters said.
NATO has joined the governments of South Korea, the US and Ukraine in confirming Pyongyang's dispatch of troops to Russia, saying that North Korean military units had been deployed to Russia's Kursk region on the border with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June agreed that the two countries would provide military and other assistance if either were attacked, as part of a strategic partnership accord.