RIGHTS, PROSPECTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DISCUSSED IN THIRD COMMITTEE
Press Release
GA/SHC/3488
RIGHTS, PROSPECTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DISCUSSED IN THIRD COMMITTEE
19981028 The history of the world's indigenous people had been one of massacre, genocide and repression, and their future was bleak, the representative of Fiji told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning, as it began and concluded its consideration of the Programme of Activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.While a new era for indigenous people was unfolding, it was moving at a snail's pace, he said. Contributions to the various international voluntary funds were insufficient to be meaningful, and without a significant increase in commitment by the international community, the International Decade would be a mere symbolic gesture. Efforts to promulgate legal instruments to protect and promote the rights of indigenous people must be matched with initiatives to enhance their economic, social and human development.
One of the most fundamental issues for indigenous peoples was their rights over the lands they traditionally occupied, most of the speakers stated this morning. Many of the representatives noted domestic legal provisions their governments had instituted to ensure those rights, and measures they had implemented to protect the cultures of their indigenous peoples.
Although the main responsibility for improving the rights of indigenous peoples rested with national governments, the representative of the Russian Federation said the United Nations system had helped to resolve some of the problems. However, the sphere of the Organization was still too limited, and he endorsed the establishment of a permanent forum within the United Nations system for consideration of the promotion of the rights of indigenous people.
Supporting that idea, the representative of Venezuela said issues of indigenous people should be dealt with in a consistent global way. However, while many of the speakers endorsed the establishment of such a forum, the representative of Brazil said he had doubts about the need to set up a new forum. He said the efficiency of existing mechanisms should be improved.
The representative of the Ukraine underscored that the two central objectives of the International Decade would be the establishment of an international permanent forum with a broad participation of representatives of indigenous people, and the adoption of a declaration on the rights of
Third Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
indigenous people. In the proposed declaration, distinction should be made between those living a tribal way of life in isolated reservations and those integrated with the rest of a society.
Perhaps the most important activity under way in the United Nations system was the standard-setting exercise being carried out in the Working Group on the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people, said the representative of New Zealand. The contribution of indigenous people and their organizations to that exercise was fundamental to its success.
Bacre Waly Ndiaye, Director of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, made an introductory statement.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Mexico, Norway, Ecuador, Guatemala, United States, Bolivia and Argentina.
The representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also made a statement.
The Third Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 29 October, to begin consideration of human rights questions: implementation of human rights instruments.
Committee Work Programme
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to begin its consideration of issues related to the programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. It had before it reports of the Secretary-General on the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations and on implementation of the programme of activities for the Decade.
The report on the status of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations (document A/53/282) reviews the situation of the Fund, which was established by resolution 40/131 on 13 December 1985 to assist representatives of indigenous communities and organizations to participate in the deliberations of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The Fund is administered by a Board of Trustees, which advises the Secretary- General through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report reviews the financial situation of the Fund and the recommendations of the Board of Trustees.
In 1998, 50 beneficiaries from 26 countries received a total of $144,250 to attend the sixteenth session of the Working Group. The Board called for an increase in contributions to enable more grants and greater representation of indigenous peoples, and encouraged indigenous peoples' organizations to submit applications to allow indigenous experts to participate in the seventeenth session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1999.
The report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of Activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (document A/53/310) recalls that the General Assembly, by resolution 48/163, proclaimed the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004). The goal of the Decade is to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, culture, the environment, development, education and health. The theme of the Decade is "indigenous people: partnership in action". The report reviews activities undertaken by the United Nations and other major actors in 1998 in connection with the Decade.
It states that the Commission on Human Rights invited United Nations institutions, programmes and specialized agencies to give increased priority and resources to improving the conditions of indigenous people within their areas of competence. The Commission also decided to establish an open-ended ad hoc inter-sessional working group, from within existing overall resources, to elaborate and consider further proposals for the possible establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people within the United Nations system. It also requested the Economic and Social Council to authorize the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize a three-day technical meeting immediately prior to the seventeenth session of the Working Group on
Third Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
Indigenous Populations in order to undertake the mid-point review of the Decade.
In the fourth commemoration of the International Day of the World's Indigenous People (9 August), the report goes on, the High Commissioner for Human Rights/Coordinator of the Decade, focused on the principal theme of the sixteenth session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, "Indigenous people: education and language". She emphasized the fundamental importance of language and education for indigenous communities. She called on the international community to renew its efforts to ensure access of indigenous peoples to all forms and levels of education, as well as to support the actions being taken by indigenous communities to take control once again of the destinies of their peoples.
According to the report, the High Commissioner for Human Rights will also organize a seminar on the draft principles and guidelines for the protection of the heritage of indigenous people in Geneva from 2 to 4 November. The draft principles and guidelines were proposed by the Special Rapporteur on the matter, Erica-Irene A. Daes.
Reviewing other activities in connection with the Decade, the report states that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched a programme of activities relating to the identification and exploration of new approaches to the use of the intellectual property system by the world's indigenous peoples, local communities and other holders, custodians and creators of traditional knowledge. The programme of activities is being carried out primarily by the new Global Intellectual Property Issues Division, which has, as part of its duties, the exploration and investigation of the needs and expectations of potential new beneficiaries of intellectual property. Indigenous peoples, local communities and holders and creators of traditional knowledge have been identified by WIPO as the first group of potential new beneficiaries.
It also states that, at its fourth meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a resolution according to which States shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is supporting and participating in the Indigenous Knowledge Programme, together with the International Development Research Centre, the Swiss Cooperation, and the Governments of Norway and Denmark, the report goes on. The Programme is an initiative of the Indigenous People Biodiversity Network. The Steering Committee of the Programme is comprised of a general coordinator and eight regional coordinators, all representatives of local indigenous organizations.
Third Committee - 4 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
Initiatives for indigenous people were undertaken by a number of Member States, including the Governments of New Zealand, Spain, Japan, Estonia, Australia and New Zealand. The Government of Canada made a statement of reconciliation in which it expresses regret for the many past policies and actions that have eroded the political, economic and social systems of aboriginal people and nations. A sum of 350 million Canadian dollars has been allocated to develop a community-based healing strategy to assist aboriginal people who were the victims of physical and sexual abuse in residential schools.
Also, according to the report, the Government of Brazil has demarcated 11 per cent of the Brazilian territory to indigenous peoples. It has adopted an education policy, in accordance with new constitutional requirements, which takes into account the fact that there are 170 indigenous languages and dialects in Brazil, spoken by around 400,000 persons.
In its resolutions 50/157 and 52/108, the General Assembly expressed the view that the objectives of the Decade should be assessed by quantifiable outcomes which can be evaluated halfway through the Decade and at its end. Also, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the Governments of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden had proposed holding a technical meeting immediately prior to the seventeenth session of the Working Group, to undertake a review of the Decade and suggest possible changes to its programme of activities. Endorsed by many indigenous organizations, an evaluation of the first five years of the Decade will therefore be examined and adjusted on the basis of the experiences of the first five years, the report concludes.
Statements
BACRE WALY NDIAYE, Director of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, introduced the two reports that had been submitted to the fifty-third session of the General Assembly on the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People and the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. Drafting a human rights declaration on the indigenous people would be a challenging task, he said, adding the hope that it would happen soon. The ad hoc session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations would be considering the establishment of a permanent forum in the United Nations for indigenous people. That would be submitted at the next session of the Commission on Human Rights.
The General Assembly had recommended that the objectives of the Decade (1995-2004) should be reviewed halfway in 1999. That review would be undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner, and would shape the second half of the Decade. Activities of the Decade had included programmes for representatives of indigenous people and travel grants to attend the meetings of the Working Group. Grants and fellowship programmes had also been made available to indigenous people and organizations. Those activities had been
Third Committee - 5 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
made possible from contributions to the Voluntary Fund; he appealed for more contributions from donors, as well from new donors.
HENRIQUE VALLE (Brazil) said the richness and cultural diversity of the indigenous people in Brazil was evident by its 215 ethnic groups speaking about 170 different languages. In the past three decades, Brazilian indigenous groups had experienced a sustained process of demographic recovery. From a decline to less than 60,000 people in the mid-1960s, the Brazilian Indian population was today estimated at about 330,000 persons. The Federal Constitution of 1988 ensured that the indigenous groups had original rights over the lands they traditionally occupied.
Many indigenous areas were still affected by illegal intrusions, including gold tappers, which led to environmental degradation and aggravated health and nutritional problems among various groups, he said. The Government was taking continuous actions to remove non-Indian persons from demarcated areas and to redress the damage they had done. Brazil attached great importance to the implementation of the programme of activities for the International Decade for the World's Indigenous People, but had doubts about the need to establish a new forum within the United Nations system to deal with issues related to the promotion of the rights of those populations. The efficiency of existing mechanisms should be improved.
MELBA PRIA (Mexico) said there was an explosive phenomenon of collective identities demanding their right to be recognized, maintained and developed. In doing so, they were seeking the transformation of the entire structure of society, challenging globalization and cosmopolitanism in the name of cultural uniqueness and people's control over their lives and surroundings. Mexico's Constitution recognized the multicultural composition of the nation, and legislative reforms were under way that made it possible to compile and systematize the proposals of the indigenous peoples with respect to the recognition of their specific rights.
The Mexican Government had also launched a programme for the certification of traditional land rights, which had made it possible to do away with outdated forms of tenure and to guarantee land ownership, she said. Special programmes were also being carried out for indigenous women and children. The National Institute for Indigenous Peoples, established 50 years ago, promoted a variety of activities relating to legal and political recognition and protection of the natural resources of indigenous people. Mindful of its international commitments, Mexico was the largest contributor to the Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.
OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway), speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries, urged governments to provide, as the Nordic countries had, financial contributions to further the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People and the Voluntary Fund for the Decade for Indigenous Populations. The
Third Committee - 6 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
Nordic countries were heartened by progress in the mainstreaming of indigenous issues within the United Nations' programmes and activities. A key objective for the Decade was to promote increased cooperation not only among indigenous peoples themselves, but also between indigenous peoples and governments.
In the Nordic countries, efforts had been made to strengthen the cultures of the Sami and Inuit peoples, he said. Towards that end, home rule for Greenland had been established. Elected bodies in the form of Sami assemblies had been created to secure indigenous participation in the decision-making process on questions affecting them. Cross-border cooperation, both among Sami people as well as with local governments in the region, had provided a fruitful basis for increasing awareness and development of Sami culture. The two most important activities under the Decade were the drafting of a universal declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous peoples in the United Nations system. He called on all indigenous peoples and all States to participate actively in the exchange of ideas and aspirations with respect to the role, function, composition and placement of the permanent forum. Many difficult issues would have to be addressed in the proposed drafting of that declaration.
MONICA MARTINEZ (Ecuador) said her country was a sovereign, independent, democratic pluri-cultural and multi-ethnic State. Its Constitution recognized and guaranteed to its indigenous people certain rights. Those included: the right to maintain their identity and traditions, and to conserve their ownership of community lands, a right which was inalienable and indivisible, and which exempted them from paying taxes; the right to participate in the use of renewable resources on those lands, and to participate in the benefits of non-renewable resources on the lands; the right to the collective intellectual property of their ancestral knowledge; access to quality bilingual education; and the right to protection of their traditional medicine, including protection of traditional medicinal plants.
She said the active participation of indigenous peoples was essential in the Programme of Action for the Decade. She supported the consideration of a permanent forum to deal with issues related to the promotion of the rights of indigenous people.
LUIS RAUL ESTEVEZ LOPEZ (Guatemala) said that when the principles and spirituality of indigenous people continued to be as real as in ancient times, in the relation between man and nature, it would be possible to say the Decade for the protection and promotion of indigenous people would be on the right path. His Government was pleased to note there was progress in the conditions of his country's indigenous people. Funds had been allocated to support and strengthen the human development of indigenous people and had benefited 40,000 Guatemalans. Those efforts involved the participation of indigenous people, which was their right. There had been public debate on indigenous issues,
Third Committee - 7 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
such as the establishment of important constitutional reforms to reflect Guatemala's multi-ethnic and multilingual society.
A joint commission was making progress concerning the right of indigenous people to land. His Government this past July had passed a bill on the land fund, the implementation of which would be important. There were also efforts to improve the health and education of the indigenous people and programmes for bilingual education were being considered, with the aim of strengthening peace and understanding among Guatemala's people, of which indigenous people made up 43 per cent. Literacy and post-literacy programmes in indigenous languages were also being considered. He commended the holding of seminars for indigenous peoples to promote exchanges between indigenous peoples and others. Guatemala supported the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the proposed declaration on the rights of indigenous people.
REGINA MONTOYA (United States) said that since the adoption of the United States Constitution, American Indian tribes had been recognized as possessing political status as domestic dependent nations, with tribal governments and the United States conducting relations on a government-to- government basis. At the mid-point of the Decade of Indigenous people, it was notable that, first, indigenous issues continued to secure increased attention at the United Nations and such forums; second, the Decade of the World's Indigenous People had focused attention on the unique circumstances of indigenous societies throughout the world and the importance of indigenous cultures to the global community. Third, the events in the course of the Decade had contributed to the fight against discrimination and had served to foster greater appreciation for, and understanding of, the needs of indigenous people. The adoption of a United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples remained an important priority for the Decade.
Since 1996, the United States Department of Justice had made significant progress, in partnership with dozens of tribes, supporting tribal self- government, including tribal law enforcement and tribal courts, as well as crime prevention and offender rehabilitation. For example, the discretionary grant programme -- stop violence against Indian women -- launched 66 programmes covering 72 Alaskan native villages, eight New Mexico pueblos and 29 Indian reservations. Similarly, the Children's Justice Act discretionary grant programme for Native Americans made grants to 40 tribes to improve investigation, prosecution, and handling of child abuse cases. The Council on Environmental Quality, the principal source for United States environmental policy, had proposed a federal strategy for environmental and natural resources protection, which included the development of tribal projects designed to further environmental protection. Defending the rights of indigenous populations was an important goal of the United States' foreign policy.
Third Committee - 8 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
ADRIANA PULIDO-SANTANA (Venezuela) said her country would contribute actively to identifying ways of improving conditions for the world's indigenous populations. The establishment of a permanent forum for consideration of the promotion of their rights would be a good way of providing indigenous people with a place where they could discuss their concerns and interests. Issues of indigenous people should be dealt with in a consistent global way. She was enthusiastic about the positive response of the United Nations system in giving priority to the concerns of indigenous populations.
For many years, the needs of indigenous people had not been duly attended to, she said. There was a conviction at the national level in her country that eradication of poverty and other evils, of which indigenous people were victims, was vital in improving their conditions and preserving their rights. Venezuela's indigenous population included at least 30 different groups of people, who were dispersed across rural and urban areas of the country. Great harm had been caused to them by illegal practices that had affected the natural ecology of the areas in which they traditionally lived. However, much had been done to protect them by the Government, and by non-governmental organizations in Venezuela.
PEGGY MALDONADO RISS (Bolivia) said it was time to intensify policies to promote and protect indigenous cultures, particularly as Bolivia was a multicultural State. Her Government had undertaken studies on the question of land for 23 indigenous peoples, and had provided legal assistance concerning the collective right of indigenous people. It had passed a law in 1997 that addressed the theme of indigenous people. Legal reforms had also been carried out for the defence of indigenous people, with the aim of ensuring the multicultural and multi-ethnic nature of the Bolivian State.
Those measures demonstrated the high priority her Government had given to the human rights of indigenous people. A law in 1998 had established a constitutional tribunal to prevent impunity of power, which was important for indigenous people as they had specific indigenous rights. Special consideration was paid to the relationship between indigenous people and the institutions of the State. In addition, there were penal procedures mandating reforms favouring indigenous people, respecting interpretation services, customary law, and citizens groups, among others. Her Government had relaunched educational reform, so that Bolivians could read in their mother tongue. Other efforts had included training programmes in indigenous municipalities to deal with local problems. Bolivia supported regional cooperation, with the aim of establishing legal, political and financial support to indigenous people.
POSECI BUNE (Fiji) said there was no doubt the future of the world's indigenous people was bleak. The dawning of the new millennium offered the international community an ideal opportunity to review objectively its commitments to help the indigenous peoples of the world, who had seen the
Third Committee - 9 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
destruction of their biodiversity and culture, and who were being discriminated against in many areas. The gloomy economic environment which affected the entire international community had increased their level of poverty and marginalization. He said he was particularly interested in the various international voluntary funds for indigenous populations, and noted that the overall amount of such funds was insufficient to be meaningful. There must be a significant increase in the level of commitments from the international community otherwise the International Decade would be a mere symbolic gesture.
The history of the worlds' indigenous people had been one of massacre, genocide and repression, he said. The indigenous people who once roamed the continents of the earth had seen their population depleted and their traditions, customs and culture circumscribed. A new era for them was unfolding, but it was moving at a snail's pace. Efforts to promulgate legal instruments to protect, guarantee and promote the rights of indigenous people must be matched with equivalent initiatives to promote, facilitate and enhance their economic, social and human development. He called for the convening of a special session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the end of the first five years of the Decade, to assess what had been achieved, and what needed to be done by way of programmes to address the needs of indigenous people.
NINA SIBAL, representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said everyone was entitled to the realization of their cultural rights, which were indispensable for dignity and the free development of personality, as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities had extended those rights to include the rights of persons belonging to minorities to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life, as well as in the decision-making process concerning the minority to which they belonged, to establish and monitor their own associations; to establish and maintain, without discrimination, free and peaceful contacts with other members of their group or other citizens of other States to whom they were related by national, ethnic, religious or linguistic ties. The position of UNESCO had always been to promote the right to learn in one's own mother tongue, as well as the right of access to languages of wider communication. An increasingly interdependent world characterized by diversity made that goal an essential priority, and there could be no lasting democracy or social justice without such respect and understanding.
Her organization was guided by three principles -- the right to culture; the safeguarding of diversity; and the precondition of democracy as the only institutional framework to achieve those rights, she said. The UNESCO had undertaken several programmes, in conjunction with national governments, non-governmental organizations and other United Nations specialized agencies, to set up instruments that addressed the issue of indigenous peoples and
Third Committee - 10 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
persons belonging to ethnic minorities. It had also worked with different organizations and governments to improve awareness of the real situation of indigenous peoples and of the need for them to be recognized as full partners in policy formulation.
YURI BOICHENKO (Russian Federation) said the rights and interests of indigenous peoples were protected in his country, which had established a national organizing committee. The committee was working within the framework of the International Decade, and had devised means to protect indigenous people; those included legal and economic support, maintenance of traditional forms of identity, and restoration of traditional culture. Another important institution was the Assembly of Russian Peoples, in which all peoples, without exception, were represented. There were more than 150 laws and legal acts to protect the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation.
Issues that were to be discussed this year included the resolution of questions involving the pensionable age of indigenous people, and improving access for them to primary education, he said. The Russian Federation was preparing a national review of the International Decade. Although the main responsibility for improving the rights of indigenous peoples rested with national governments, the United Nations system had participated in resolving some of the problems. However, he said, the sphere of the United Nations was still too limited, and he endorsed discussions concerning establishment of a permanent forum to promote the rights of indigenous people.
DEBORAH GEELS (New Zealand) said that perhaps the most important activity under way in the United Nations system was the standard-setting exercise being carried out in the annual sessions of the intergovernmental Working Group on the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. The contribution of indigenous people and their organizations to that exercise was fundamental to its success. New Zealand had supported international work in furtherance of the Decade's goals, including through contributions to the Voluntary Fund for the Decade, and had also contributed to the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. It had also taken part in a number of non-governmental events related to the goals of the Decade.
The Ministry of Maori Development carried responsibility for implementing a domestic Programme of Action for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, she said. Particular priority had been given to Maori language development and education. Over the course of the Decade, the major international human rights instruments were being translated into the Maori language to make them more accessible. The Treaty of Waitangi was fundamental to the relationship between the Crown and Maori. The Government was committed to two key objectives -- to address socio-economic disparities between Maori and non-Maori, and to reach fair and durable settlements to grievances arising from breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Government was committed to working with Maori to find effective ways of addressing Maori concerns, and was equally committed to supporting Maori language and culture.
Third Committee - 11 - Press Release GA/SHC/3488 27th Meeting (AM) 28 October 1998
MYKOLA MELENEVSKY (Ukraine) said that, bearing in mind the specific needs of indigenous people, implementation of the Programme of Action was a concrete undertaking requiring appropriate international instruments for translating its provisions into practical measures. At the same time, there was a need to create a solid basis of international law. In that regard, his Government wanted to underscore that the two central objectives of the Decade would be the adoption of a draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous people and the establishment of an international permanent forum with broad participation of representatives of indigenous people to discuss matters of their concern.
His Government strongly believed that all issues related to national minorities could and should be resolved within a democratic and legal framework and that their rights must be fully respected as part of universal human rights. Moreover, protection of and respect for the rights of indigenous people, as well as of national minorities, also contributed to stability, peace and the strengthening of democracy in poly-ethnic societies. That issue was directly related to the preservation of international peace and security. Turning to the proposed draft declaration, a distinction should be made at least between two categories of indigenous entities -- those living a tribal way of life in isolated reservations and those integrated with the rest of a society. In that case, the issue of self-identification of people as indigenous could only be valid as an additional criterion, not as a fundamental one. There should be other criteria to identify the category of indigenous populations within the context of the draft declaration.
MARIANO SIMON-PADROS (Argentina) said that as an example of the work that was being done to further the situation of indigenous peoples in his country, a special council had been established to promote their rights and development. The council was seeking a way to give them greater voice in the national governance of their affairs. Argentina was aware that land ownership and the practice of indigenous people's traditional culture was key to preserving their identity as a group. Property titles would soon be given to some of the indigenous communities in Argentina, and centres had been established to study the traditional cultures. Programmes to increase bilingual education for them were also under way.
He supported the establishment of a permanent forum within the United Nations system to deal with issues related to the promotion of rights of indigenous peoples.
* *** *