Expert Member, and Vice-Chair, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
International Peace Day: A Reflection on True Peace from an Indigenous Perspective Today, on International Peace Day, we reflect on the absence of conflict and the deeper, lost meaning of peace. In these times, peace has often been reduced to a fragile silence between tensions or a fleeting truce, when in reality, it is far more profound—a vision rooted in justice, respect, and harmony with all living beings. For #IndigenousPeoples, peace is not simply the absence of war. Our cosmovision offers a timeless understanding of positive peace—one that embraces the interdependence between the earth, its creatures, and the communities that sustain them. In this worldview, peace is found in balance, in nurturing relationships, and in protecting territories and ecosystems that have been cared for by our ancestors for millennia. As the world struggles with conflicts and ecological crises, the wisdom and resilience of Indigenous Peoples stand as a beacon. It is our role to remind humanity of what true peace means: not only a political or social settlement but a holistic restoration of balance with nature, land, and one another. On this day, let us reaffirm our commitment to bringing this vision to the world, reminding all that peace is not a luxury or a mere cessation of violence—it is the essence of life, deeply embedded in the way we coexist with our territories and each other. Peace, in its truest form, is waiting to be rediscovered. It is already alive within Indigenous Peoples and their enduring relationship with the earth.
Everywhere we look, peace is under attack. From Gaza, to Sudan, to Ukraine and beyond we see: Civilians in the firing line. Homes blown apart. Traumatised, terrified populations. This catalogue of human misery must stop. Our world needs peace. #PeaceDay
