The United Nations called for respect of the rights of the 370 million indigenous people as the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples was celebrated Tuesday, DPA reported.
The UN said indigenous peoples represent a remarkable diversity of 5,000 distinct groups in 90 countries, who have been struggling to be recognized and given values of equity, justice and dignity in society.
"Indigenous peoples face many challenges in maintaining their identity, traditions and customs, and their contributions are at times exploited and commercialized, with little or no recognition," UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon said in a message for the occasion.
The UN will organize a World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 2014 in the first such summit to highlight the importance of assisting indigenous populations worldwide.
Indigenous representatives have been given rights to hold annual meetings at UN headquarters in New York to demand their human rights and promote traditions and cultures. Most countries around the world have native peoples, whose rights have not been recognized.