In June 2024, a large group of Mashco Piro Indigenous People was spotted on a riverbank in the southern Peruvian Amazon. It was a rare sight, since the Mashco Piro live in voluntary isolation in the lush forests that cover the region. Nevertheless, in recent years they have appeared more frequently at the edges of their territory, often looking for food. 

The Mashco Piro is one of over 200 groups of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact in the world. This year's International Day of the World Indigenous Peoples is dedicated to protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact. This includes the right to live in isolation, the rights to their territories, lands and natural resources, but also the rights to their food and knowledge systems, and the Right to Food. 

The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples has been observed every 9th of August since 1994, when the UN General Assembly adopted it. Every year, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) proposes a different theme for the International Day. 

Of the hundreds of different groups of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact, several live in some of the countries in the Amazon basin: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela. This is the case with the Mashco Piro. Other important groups live in unique biomes and ecosystems in Congo, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay, among others. 

Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact live in some of the most biodiverse places in the world. They are guardians of these ecosystems and of the immense knowledge of their environment. 

There are many lessons that the world could learn from their food generation and from their mobile and nomadic food and knowledge systems. These systems have existed for thousands of years. They have adapted to changes in their environment and managed to preserve natural resources, while gathering and producing diverse and nutritious food. 

If their rights were fully respected, these Indigenous Peoples could continue their path of sustainable food production and generation in the future. But this is not the case. Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact are facing serious threats. The appearance of the Mashco Piro in their search for food outside their traditional territory reflects these difficulties. 

Encroachment on their territories and extractive activities are hindering their ability to feed themselves in dignity. Mining, illegal logging, expansion of intensive commercial agriculture and livestock, forced assimilation, and violence are common factors leading to displacement and migration. They are often forced to flee from these threats. 

Besides physical threats, contact with outsiders exposes Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact to common diseases that historically have proven deadly, since they lack immunity against them. Furthermore, encroachments undermine their collective rights over lands and resources, and hinder their mobility patterns, which underlie their food and knowledge systems. Forced contact also undermines their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and their choice to live in voluntary isolation. 

Protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact is reflected and reinforced in the protection of their Right to Food. 2024 also marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food, which give special attention to groups such as pastoralists and Indigenous Peoples (guideline 8.1).  

This year's theme of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples reminds us that this attention should also be channeled towards Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact. Their rights to exist, to live in isolation, to freely and safely access their territories, lands and natural resources are fundamental to guarantee their capacity to feed themselves in dignity while respecting their choice to live in isolation.