The CMA and AIPN representative appointed as co-chair of the steering committee of the intrnational Decade of Indigenous languages
As a representative of the Congrès Mondial Amazigh / Amazigh World Congress and the African Indigenous Peoples Network (AIPN), Belkacem Lounes was appointed on March 11, 2025, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, as co-chair of the Steering Committee of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL), alongside three other co-chairs: Anabel Benjamin Bara (indigenous representative from India), Professor Wiseman Magwa (representative of the Government of Zimbabwe), and Paul Pelletier (Deputy Minister of the Government of Canada).
The International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 was adopted by the UN General Assembly with the aim of drawing global attention to the critical situation of indigenous languages and mobilizing relevant stakeholders (particularly indigenous peoples and states) for "the preservation, revitalization, and promotion of these languages".
The governance of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages is comprised of a Steering Committee and an International Working Group comprising representatives of indigenous peoples, states, and relevant United Nations bodies. The Decade's secretariat is provided by UNESCO.
Belkacem Lounes was a member of the Steering Committee for the International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019 and has continued his commitment to indigenous languages within the framework of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032. The main mission of the Steering Committee for this decade is to monitor the global action plan and national action plans for indigenous languages.
Currently, only a tiny minority of countries have developed their national action plans and begun implementing them. The challenge is therefore to convince the governments concerned to equip their countries with action plans for the safeguarding, revitalization, and promotion of indigenous languages, in consultation with indigenous peoples.
A few African countries (South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria, etc.) have begun consultations with their indigenous peoples to establish action plans, but to date, no African country has formally adopted its action plan. In the Tamazgha countries (North Africa and the Sahara), the International Decade of Indigenous Languages is completely ignored by governments, even though they have a duty to raise awareness of it and develop a strategy for its implementation.
Consequently, the CMA urges the governing bodies of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages and UNESCO to require North African states to fulfill their obligation to develop action plans to promote the indigenous Amazigh language, in accordance with the objectives of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. These action plans must necessarily be designed and implemented in close collaboration with representatives of the Amazigh peoples.
The members of the CMA Board and Federal Council warmly congratulate their colleague Belkacem Lounes and wish him every success in fulfilling his noble mission.
Paris, 1/03/2975 – 12/03/2025
The Board of CMA.