SECRETARIAT OF PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES ESTABLISHED BY DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

SECRETARIAT OF PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES ESTABLISHED

BY DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

NEW YORK, 3 February (DESA) -- Nitin Desai, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), last week established the Secretariat for the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, as a branch within the Division for Social Policy and Development, another step forward in what indigenous people have warmly welcomed as their broader involvement in the United Nations family.

The Secretariat’s job is to assist the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in carrying out its mandate -- which covers the six areas of economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights -- through the provision of expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the Economic and Social Council, as well as to programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations; raising awareness and promoting integration and coordination of activities relating to indigenous issues within the United Nations system; and preparing and disseminating information on indigenous issues.

As well as these important tasks, the Secretariat will administer the Voluntary Fund for the Permanent Forum and coordinate a broad cross-system approach to providing better outcomes for indigenous peoples, aimed at raising living standards and improving the quality of life for indigenous peoples around the world.

The Secretariat is in the process of establishing office systems, communication networks, a Web page, and preparing for the second session of the Permanent Forum, to be held in New York from 12 to 23 May. 

The 16-member Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues –- a subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council -- was established by the Council on 28 July 2000, on the recommendation of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.  The first session of the Permanent Forum was held at United Nations Headquarters from 13 to 24 May 2002.

For information, please contact Elsa Stamatopoulou, Acting Chief, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Division for Social Policy and Development, DESA, Room DC2-1772, New York, NY 10017, tel:  1-917-367-5100, fax:  1-212-963-3062.

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