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From http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/hr5288.doc.htm

A three-day meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York brought together experts from around the world to identify best practices and recommend ways to preserve and revitalize indigenous languages.

It is estimated that there are between 6,000 to 7,000 oral languages in the world today, but that one dies every two weeks. “Maintaining and revitalizing indigenous languages is essential to keep our shared cultural heritage,” emphasized Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Department organized the three-day meeting, which ran from 19 to 21 January.

During the meeting, indigenous peoples demonstrated various initiatives for keeping their languages alive and made recommendations. They called upon Member States to proclaim an international day and a United Nations decade for indigenous languages in order to raise awareness of the urgent need to keep those languages vibrant and alive. Also recommended was a global fund to support indigenous language initiatives with a focus on community-driven language revitalization projects. The meeting called upon States to implement the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations the languages, histories, philosophies, cultures and oral traditions of indigenous peoples.

As a matter of urgency, the meeting also called upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to prioritize the preservation and revitalization of indigenous languages and initiate practical programs to that end. To frame those efforts, UNESCO should adopt a global policy on engagement with indigenous peoples and include the revitalization and promotion of indigenous languages as an agenda item at UNESCO’s General Conference.

Read the full press release at http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/hr5288.doc.htm