Opening Permanent Forum, Deputy Secretary-General Says Rights of Indigenous Peoples Must Be Included in Post-2015 Development Framework
To be truly transformative, the post-2015 development framework must include the rights of indigenous peoples, the Deputy Secretary-General said today, stressing to participants at the fourteenth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, that it was time for them to be at the forefront of an agenda that left no one behind.
Opening the session, which runs until 1 May, Jan Eliasson said 2015 was a critical year, in which the international community would define a new development agenda and work to fight climate change. In such work, the Forum — along with its Special Rapporteur, Expert Mechanism and the 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — were “important tools” for ensuring that indigenous economic, social and cultural rights were fulfilled.
In addition, he said, the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples marked a “milestone” in the relationship between indigenous peoples and States, during which States had reaffirmed their support to the Declaration and agreed to a set of goals and commitments concerning health, environment, education, land and territories. They also had agreed to address indigenous peoples’ participation at the United Nations, he said, urging them to find ways to enhance such engagement.
“We must all work together to make the Declaration a reality,” he said. For its part, the Organization was developing a system-wide action plan to achieve the Declaration’s principles, efforts that were being coordinated by the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The World Conference had produced a “visionary” outcome document with the potential to change indigenous peoples’ realities, said Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly. Through “unparalleled” cooperation, States had agreed to address the rights and well-being of indigenous peoples and uphold the Declaration’s principles. He encouraged them to continue to work closely with their indigenous partners in its implementation. “The contributions, knowledge and wisdom of indigenous peoples are of major importance as we seek to address the world’s development challenges,” he stressed.
With that in mind, Megan Davis, Chairperson and Forum Member from Australia, called on participants to be alert to the “full gamut of actions” included in the World Conference outcome document, and to not focus solely on procedure and process. “To endorse the United Nations Declaration publicly and internationally, while undermining its character domestically, was to engage in ‘rights ritualism’, where lip service was paid to the human rights of indigenous peoples while shielding institutional or structural resistance to their realization,” she said.
The Forum’s 2015 session provided an opportunity for expert members to report on the ongoing review of working methods, she said, and consideration of ways to ensure increased effectiveness in meeting its mandate. There must be an examination of, and reform in the way the Forum conducted its work in order to be responsive to the needs of the indigenous.
Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that, as a senior official responsible for coordinating follow-up to the World Conference, he was responsible for developing and organizing a system-wide action plan to ensure a coherent approach to achieving the Declaration’s goals. He was also raising awareness on the rights of the indigenous at the highest possible level and increasing coherence of the United Nations’ activities in that regard.
In the afternoon, the Forum held a general debate on the World Conference outcome, with representatives of Governments, indigenous peoples groups and United Nations agencies outlining ways to more effectively disaggregate data on indigenous peoples, empower indigenous women, consider the situations of indigenous youth and persons with disabilities — and improve States’ implementation of the Declaration. Many proposed ideas for developing a system-wide action plan to “ensure a coherent approach” to achieving the Declaration.
Chief Todadaho Sid Hill, Chief of the Onondaga Nation, delivered the annual ceremonial welcome to participants.
Also today, the Forum elected Megan Davis as Chair of the fourteenth session, as well as Joan Carling, Joseph Goko Mutangah, Alvaro Esteban Pop and Oliver Loode as Vice-Chairs, and Kara-Kys Arakchaa as Rapporteur. It also adopted its agenda for the session.
María Emma Mejía Vélez, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, and Alexandr Zhuravsky, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, also delivered opening remarks.
Speaking in the general debate were Deputy Ministers from Nicaragua and the United States.
The representatives of Ecuador (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), Finland, (on behalf of the Nordic countries), Colombia and the Russian Federation also spoke.
Representatives of the following United Nations agencies also addressed the Forum: Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Fund for Agricultural Development, Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) New York Office.
Representatives from the following indigenous peoples’ organizations also spoke: Sami Parliament of Norway, Parliament of Greenland, International Indian Treaty Council (also on behalf of other organizations), National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, Arctic Caucus and the Disability Indigenous Peoples Caucus.
Forum Members from Bolivia, Philippines, Cameroon and Burkina Faso commented during an interactive dialogue with the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 21 April, to continue its fourteenth session.
Opening remarks
SAM KUTESA (Uganda), President of the General Assembly, recalled that, in September 2007, in the Assembly Hall, States had embraced the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Seven years later, in September 2014, the landmark World Conference on Indigenous Peoples was held, where States confirmed their respect to advance the rights of indigenous peoples and to uphold the Declaration’s principles. It was a unique event, with indigenous peoples participating, not only in the Conference, but in the preparation of the outcome document. “These accomplishments are highly significant,” he said, as both sides had worked in partnership and mutual respect. The outcome had potential to change rights of indigenous peoples, including at the United Nations.
Experience had shown that, through dialogue, States and indigenous peoples could find common ground and solutions, he said. The World Conference outcome document had laid out States’ commitments to address the rights and well-being of indigenous peoples contained in the Declaration, and he encouraged States to continue working with indigenous peoples on its implementation. This year, the international community was working to establish an ambitious post-2015 agenda. No effort must be spared to achieve a development cooperation framework that improved the everyday lives of people worldwide. “Indeed, the contributions, knowledge and wisdom of indigenous peoples are of major importance as we seek to address the world’s development challenges,” he said.
JAN ELIASSON, Deputy Secretary-General, said that, over the years, the Forum had grown in recognition and results. Today, it was widely regarded as a representative arena on the rights and roles of indigenous peoples, offering a strong platform for all partners to embrace their aspirations. The World Conference marked a “milestone” in the relationship between indigenous peoples and States, during which, the latter had reaffirmed their support to the Declaration and agreed to a set of goals and commitments concerning health, environment, education, land and territories. The outcome document also focused on traditional knowledge, economies, subsistence activities, as well as national action plans and the rights of indigenous peoples to determine their development priorities. States had agreed to address indigenous peoples’ participation at the United Nations and he urged identifying ways to enhance their engagement on issues that affected them.
In addition, he said, the World Conference called on the United Nations to develop a system-wide action plan to achieve the Declaration’s principles — efforts which were being coordinated by the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In 2015, the Forum would focus on economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples, he said, noting that the Declaration had affirmed their rights to health, education, clean drinking water and an improved environment. It stressed that basic services be provided in ways that were culturally appropriate and accounted for indigenous peoples’ ways of life.
“Let us strive to ensure the economic, social and cultural rights for indigenous peoples are fulfilled,” he said, as those rights were essential to their basic dignity and survival. He called on States to ensure that the post-2015 development agenda included the situation and rights of indigenous peoples, stressing that now was time for them to be at forefront of an agenda that left no one behind. With that, he reiterated the United Nations’ commitment to the progress and welfare of indigenous peoples. “We must all work together to make the Declaration a reality,” he said.
MARÍA EMMA MEJÍA VÉLEZ, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, said that, as a woman from a Latin American country, Colombia, with its prominent representation of indigenous peoples and progressive legislation for indigenous peoples in the region, she was proud to support the current session. The occasion provided a place to assemble all indigenous groups to hold a dialogue, exchange ideas and decide on concrete proposals relating to issues they faced.
The Forum had come a long way towards strengthening and recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples since its establishment as an advisory body of the Council, she said. Noting the transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the sustainable development goals, she expressed hope that the results of the third International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Addis Ababa and the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris would lay the groundwork for the post-2015 development agenda.
She said the principles of universality and integration formed the basis for the United Nations’ work on development, as well as the work of the Council. In July, the organ’s annual ministerial review would focus on addressing ongoing and emerging challenges for meeting and sustaining development goals. The implementation of the development agenda was a primary concern for the indigenous, and that process should respect the culture and ancestral values of their communities.
MEGAN DAVIS, Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and Forum Member from Australia, expressed gratitude to her colleagues and the Expert Members of the Permanent Forum for their contributions in fulfilling the Permanent Forum’s mandate. She also acknowledged the Onondaga nation, in particular, Tadodaho Sid Hill, its traditional chief, for the welcome into their territory once again. She then paid tribute to two friends of the Permanent Forum and champions of the rights of the indigenous people who had passed away, Tonya Gonnella Frichner and Augusto Willemsen-Diaz, after which a moment of silence was observed.
Noting that the current session came at a critical time for indigenous peoples and the United Nations, she called on participants to be alert to the full gamut of actions included in the outcome document and not focus solely on procedure and process. “To endorse the United Nations Declaration publicly and internationally, while undermining its character domestically, was to engage in ‘rights ritualism’, where lip service was paid to the human rights of indigenous peoples while shielding institutional or structural resistance to their realization,” she said. The session provided an opportunity for expert members to report on the ongoing review of its working methods and consideration of ways to ensure the Forum’s increased effectiveness in meeting its mandate. There must be an examination of, and reform in the way the Forum conducted its work in order to be responsive to the needs of the indigenous.
Highlighting the Forum’s activities in the next two weeks, which would begin with a high-level plenary meeting this afternoon and continue with discussions on topics important to the indigenous communities, she urged participants to carefully consider the concept paper on working methods reform. In closing, she called on the international community to work together to make meaningful and worthwhile challenges for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples.
WU HONGBO, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and Secretary-General for the third International Conference on Financing for Development and Senior Official of the United Nations System to Coordinate Follow Up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples by the Secretary-General, recalled that in the outcome document that arose from the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 2014, States had reaffirmed their support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. They had also committed to take specific actions at the global, national and local levels to implement the rights of those peoples through concrete measures and activities.
As a senior official responsible for coordinating follow-up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, he said he would be responsible for developing and organizing a system-wide action plan to ensure a coherent approach to achieving the ends of the Declaration, raise awareness on the rights of the indigenous at the highest possible level and increase coherence of the activities of the United Nations system in that regard. He expressed hope that Member States and United Nations agencies would ensure that the rights of the indigenous peoples and their development priorities would be rooted on the agenda of the third International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Addis Ababa in July, the post-2015 development agenda to be adopted in New York in September and the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris in December.
He said the Permanent Forum’s current session was a “review year” and would emphasize the implementation of its recommendations, as well as discussions on the follow-up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the post-2015 development agenda. Noting that contributions to the Trust Fund on Indigenous Issues directly supported the substantive work of the Permanent Forum, he thanked Denmark, Estonia, Finland and the Christensen Fund from the United States for their contributions. He also expressed appreciation to the Russian Federation for hosting the intersessional meeting of the Permanent Forum in February 2015 to provide insight to the situation of its indigenous peoples.
ALEXANDR V. ZHURAVSKY, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, said his country had centuries of coexistence with indigenous peoples, cultures and religions. Integral to that history was the contribution of indigenous minorities. Unlike in other countries, Russian land had not been subjected to forced colonization. In the Russian Federation’s experience, the issue of indigenous peoples had its own interpretation and related to “small-numbered peoples” living in specific territories with traditional ways of life. Threats to them related to globalization and technical progress. Without State and regional support, their customs, languages and ways of life risked falling away.
The Russian Federation was among the first countries to develop a plan for meeting targets of the second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, he said, pointing to its unique best practices in promoting the sustainable development of indigenous minorities, which it was ready to share. Those results were particularly relevant in 2015, during the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations and establishment of a global sustainable development agenda.
Citing other gains, he said the number of indigenous minorities in the Russian Federation had increased by 3 per cent over the decade, while child mortality had fallen by 23 per cent. Today, in 212 State educational institutions, 22 indigenous minority languages were being studied, compared to 17 languages 10 years ago. In February, the Russian Federation had hosted an intersessional meeting of the Forum in the Yamalo-Nenets region, where results achieved by federal and regional authorities had been assessed. It was the task of any State to create the conditions for indigenous peoples to live in dignity, and for cultures and languages to be preserved. His Government would work to strengthen the Forum as the only platform of its kind where States, indigenous peoples, civil society and United Nations representatives could engage in dialogue.
JOAN CARLING, Vice-Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said indigenous people had reached consensus on a unified position as reflected in the outcome document from the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. The outcome document had reaffirmed prior commitments made on a range of areas, including health and employment. Member States had also committed to taking specific actions to advance the rights of the indigenous, including through legislative and administrative measures, as well as national actions plans and strategies. Noting that the United Nations had been asked to develop a system-wide action plan for achieving the goals of the Declaration, she said that, in March 2015, the Secretariat had circulated a questionnaire to Member States and indigenous peoples requesting input on ways to facilitate the participation of indigenous representatives.
Statements
ELOY FRANK GÓMEZ, Deputy Minister for Indigenous Peoples and Afro Descendants of Nicaragua, said his country, through experience, had learned that the path to achieve consensus was dialogue. Through dialogue, parties could share concerns, priorities and actions for mutual commitment. For indigenous peoples, it was important to preserve Mother Earth, as well as the rights of governance, health, food and security, among others. Development efforts for the indigenous should endeavour to turn the areas in which they lived into safe places for the community and productive economic centres. They must also integrate socio-cultural factors over and above economic efforts towards development.
The representative of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, shared updates on the implementation of the outcome document, recalling that a system-wide action plan was to be developed with and a progress report to be provided to the Assembly at its seventieth session, through the Economic and Social Council. The action plan must be grounded in the Declaration, the outcome document, International Labour Organization Convention (ILO) No. 169 and the “Alta document”. It must be more than a “laundry list” of activities, offering specific goals and targets. Ultimately, it must be a practical tool that facilitated United Nations efforts. He drew attention to the experiences gained in implementing other inter-agency frameworks, such as the system-wide action plans on youth and on gender. A goal of the action plan must be to provide support to States, so they could better achieve the Declaration’s objectives.
AILI KESKITALO, Sami Parliament of Norway, said her delegation was engaged in discussion about the follow-up to the outcome document at the national and international levels. Domestically, it was preparing a submission to Norway as regards to national follow-up, including required legislative, policy and administrative measures to implement the Declaration. At the international level, the Sami Parliament had worked with other indigenous peoples to promote effective follow up at the United Nations, having prioritized the outcome document’s operational paragraphs 28 and 33. Last week, the Sami Parliament had held informal bilateral talks with States in Geneva, on those paragraphs. Going forward, the Human Rights Council should formally initiate a review of the Declaration. On indigenous peoples’ participation at the United Nations, she supported the creation of an observer status category for indigenous representative institutions.
ANN MARIE BLEDSOE DOWNES, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Department for the Interior of the United States, suggested considering new participation procedures for the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies; the Human Rights Council and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Revised procedures could build on those the Council had established for the Permanent Forum. In that context, she supported enhanced participation for representatives of its federally recognized Indian tribes, and other United States entities that could show they should be allowed to participate in the United Nations system. She recommended revising the Expert Mechanism’s mandate and composition for the purpose of assessing States progress in achieving the Declaration’s goals, and that it not discuss topics that the Forum was considering, in order to give more bandwidth for assessing country efforts.
MARIA EUGENIA CHOQUE QUISPE, Member of the Permanent Forum from Bolivia, said the role of the Permanent Forum was of vital importance to the implementation of the recommendations from the World Conference. Noting that challenges to implementation were of concern, she said the process should recognize the rights of the indigenous peoples. Highlighting several themes set forth in the outcome document, she said it was important to ensure the full participation of the indigenous peoples in the United Nations system, particularly in areas that were of concern to them and that affected their rights.
PATRICK KEULEERS, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan was critically important as it would serve as the basis for coherent and joint action towards achieving the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. UNDP had been actively engaged in the process of drafting the plan, bringing its experience and perspective from its work in 177 countries and territories. Work and engagement with indigenous peoples had been a priority area within the overall mission of UNDP to mainstream a human rights based approach into its policies and programmes, as well in its global efforts to fight discrimination and support marginalized peoples and groups.
JULIANE HENNINGSEN, Parliament of Greenland, citing a recent report by the Greenlandic Government, said the situation was far from what she would like to achieve. Indigenous peoples lived in remote areas. In her municipality, there were no women in the village councils. “We have to do it better,” she said, urging that paragraph 17 of the outcome document, on the empowerment of indigenous women, be fully implemented. She called on the Forum to recommend to the Commission on the Status of Women to consider indigenous women in 2016. It should press States to promote public policies on women and young people’s full participation in political processes. UN-Women, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and others should develop projects for indigenous women in consultation with them.
JULIO XAVIER LASSO MENDOZA (Ecuador), speaking on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), said Community members had ratified their pledge to promote inclusive societies and sustainable development through national plans that respected the diversity of indigenous cultures, with timetables that aimed to foster their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. The Secretariat should continue to provide support for countries to improve disaggregated data collection and statistical visibility for indigenous peoples and Afro-descendent populations in his region, as well as by developing indicators and exchanging best practices. CELAC had emphasized indigenous peoples’ local and cultural practices with a view to optimizing water use for irrigation purposes. Patents on traditional and ancestral knowledge of indigenous and tribal peoples must be protected, to prevent violation by third party registrations that ignored their ownership. He supported the empowerment of indigenous women and youth, including in decisions on health, education and employment.
ANTONELLA CORDONE, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), supported the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples in projects and programmes that affected their livelihoods. Discussing processes in place to foster indigenous peoples’ participation, she said 40 indigenous representatives had participated in the Fund’s second Global Forum in Rome. This year, the Forum had built on the result of the World Conference, where States had recognized the importance of indigenous peoples’ role in economic, social and environmental development, through sustainable agricultural processes. The Forum was held back to back with the IFAD Governing Council. Last February, a Governing Council panel was dedicated to indigenous peoples, which featured the Special Rapporteur, along with four indigenous peoples’ representatives who addressed States. The Indigenous Peoples’ Assistance Facility was co-managed by three indigenous organizations that supervised small projects designed and implemented by indigenous communities. At the country level, indigenous participation on project design and country strategies had “improved significantly”.
ANDREA CARMEN, Open-Ended Meeting of Indigenous Peoples on the Follow-up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, said improving the mandate of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People should include facilitating face-to-face dialogue between States and indigenous peoples’ representatives including at the national level and building their capacity to engage with States and the United Nations. Stressing that the rules of engagement were deficient, she said granting permanent observer status to indigenous peoples’ representative institutions would allow them to participate fully. As well, there should be a new process and body for accrediting their representative institutions that would take into account their regional differences. In addition, their participation should include attending United Nations meetings and conferences, as well as country reviews and prioritizing agenda items.
Interactive Discussion with the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
LENNI MONTIEL, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the World Conference was a historic occasion for the United Nations signifying its increasing attention to indigenous peoples worldwide. Nevertheless, much remained to be done to consolidate and build on gains achieved to date. The United Nations was actively engaged with indigenous people to carry out numerous activities that promoted respect for their rights at the local, national and international levels. As the entity responsible for the development pillar within the Secretariat, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs addressed a wide range of cross-cutting issues that affected people’s lives and livelihood, including those of indigenous peoples. The system-wide action plan being drafted would seek to improve the coordination system to respond more effectively to their needs as well as the needs of Member States.
In the ensuing interactive discussion, KAI JÜRGEN MIKAEL SAUER (Finland), on behalf of Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, said the Secretariat’s questionnaire on the outcome document was an important step in realizing indigenous rights at the United Nations and he looked forward to the Secretary-General’s report. The United Nations should reach out indigenous peoples as broadly as possible, seeking their advice on that report. It was important that indigenous peoples’ full participation was ensured throughout the follow-up to the World Conference. Indigenous peoples and institutions were not non-governmental organizations. Those that were constitutionally and politically acknowledged should participate in United Nations bodies on issues that affected them. Their status should not be below that given to non-governmental organizations with Economic and Social Council consultative status.
JOAN CARLING, Member of the Permanent Forum from the Philippines, said the sustainable development goals had not taken on board the World Conference’s recommendations. Indigenous women’s concerns must be considered in formulating indicators on women’s empowerment. Indigenous peoples’ poverty was linked to land security and traditional livelihoods — elements in the outcome document that should be included in the sustainable development goals. She wondered if the Assistant Secretary-General could facilitate indigenous peoples’ engagement in that process.
GERVAIS NZOA, Member of the Permanent Forum from Cameroon, highlighted the need for a structure for the follow-up on indigenous issues at national, regional and international levels. For example, UNDP had programmes dealing with indigenous issues. As such, it might be easier to assess outcome document implementation in that context.
MARIAM WALLET ABOUBAKRINE, Member of the Permanent Forum from Burkina Faso, pressed States to integrate into their development plans measures for indigenous peoples, drawing attention to the modalities for drafting those action plans.
MARÍA EUGENIA CHOQUE QUISPE, Member of the Permanent Forum from Bolivia, said an action plan presented challenges in incorporating indigenous peoples’ concerns, especially those of women. The plan involved respect for collective rights and access to financial resources. It should harmonize the aims of international and national instruments. In addition, indicators must cover land tenure for indigenous women and their access to resources. They also should address traditional economies, food security and traditional knowledge.
LES MALEZER, National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, asked how indigenous peoples outside the Organization could engage with the Assistant Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General to coordinate across the system. Drawing attention to a capacity problem, he said attending Forum meetings drained the resources indigenous peoples used to fight for their rights. Those in the Pacific, in particular, were on the other side of the world from New York and Geneva.
In response to Mr. Malezer, Mr. MONTIEL offered a permanent open line of communication, noting that he wished indigenous peoples and their advocates to feel that any single issue or problem they had could be addressed. As such communication might be hard to put in practice, he requested their patience and encouraged the use of current means of communication, which he said the secretariat of the Forum should facilitate.
On the question of consultations on several elements reflected in the outcome document, he said he understood that the Forum’s secretariat had systems in place to communicate with participants, including through questionnaires. Such mechanisms should be used, he said, while alternatives would be welcomed.
In response to Ms. Carling’s comment, he recalled the Rio+20 Conference and noted that one of the important events that had been organized was a meeting with indigenous groups. In that meeting, the Secretary-General had committed to do his utmost to ensure that the interests, needs and vision of indigenous groups would be taken into consideration during the Rio process. Since the Conference, the question of indigenous peoples had been put forward by the Secretariat for consideration by Member States. While he was aware of the frustrations that not much had been achieved compared to expectations during the World Conference, he said it was important to remember that any possible change in the text of the post-2015 development agenda should be through interaction and dialogue with one’s Member State and not with the Secretariat. He said the Philippines, unlike any other delegation, had raised at a recent World Bank meeting issues facing indigenous people — a good example of how indigenous issues could be more explicitly put forward.
On indicators, he said the United Nations Statistical Commission had taken the task of reviewing the set of goals and indicators for the post-2015 development agenda and was planning to present its analysis in March 2016. He called on participants to ensure that national statistics offices in their countries engaged directly with the United Nations Statistical Commission so that their needs and concerns were represented.
In response to Mr. Nzoa, he agreed that additional or special structures were not needed to prepare a system-wide action plan since, by its nature, the plan involved entities already working with indigenous peoples, such as UNDP and UNFPA, among other agencies. In addition, the action plan had been proposed by the General Assembly without allocation of additional resources. Also, there was already a coordinating mechanism — the Interagency Support Group on indigenous issues.
In response to Ms. Choque, he said any participation that would be arranged should consider the role of women and the question of language. There must be a discussion on how to make more coherent what United Nations agencies and programmes were doing to advance the rights of indigenous peoples.
Statements
JOHN SCOTT, Convention on Biological Diversity, said the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Intersessional Working Group on Article 8 (j) and Related Provisions of the Convention of Biological Diversity would meet for its ninth meeting in November 2015. It would address the development of guidelines for national legislation and other arrangements for the implementation of article 8 (j) and related provisions that fully recognized the rights of indigenous peoples over their traditional knowledge. In that regard, sub-tasks would include developing guidelines for obtaining the prior informed consent or approval and involvement of the indigenous communities, guidelines to ensure that they obtained a fair share of benefits arising from the use of their knowledge and guidelines on the reporting and prevention of misappropriation of traditional knowledge. The Working Group would also focus on creating best practice guidelines for the repatriation of indigenous and traditional knowledge for knowledge and cultural restoration.
HJALMER DAHL, Arctic Caucus, stressed the need for Governments to obtain the free, prior and informed consent before adopting legislative and other measures that affected them, especially those related to land and resources. He recommended an amended mandate for the Expert Mechanism that complemented that of the Special Rapporteur and the Forum. It should include the opportunity for the Expert Mechanism to seek, receive and consider information from States and indigenous peoples on specific cases related to the Declaration. The Expert Mechanism should facilitate dialogue. In addition, it should provide technical advice to indigenous peoples and the private sector on the Declaration’s implementation, as well as to States, including assistance with national implementation plans, legislative policy and administrative measures. He recommended full participation in all United Nations bodies by indigenous peoples and institutions, including indigenous governments and parliaments.
Ms. MEJÍA VÉLEZ (Colombia) supported the Declaration’s principles, noting that indigenous peoples represented 3.3 per cent of her country’s population and comprised 82 peoples — an immense national wealth. Colombia was a pluri-ethnic and multicultural country with “proactive” legislation for indigenous peoples. It had a legal and institutional framework that recognized that respect for minorities should be the minimum standard on which public policies were decided. Indigenous communities had special seats for political representation and their authorities were recognized by the State. They were subject to affirmative action, based on traditional customs, while there was official status for indigenous languages. The Government had paid attention to their right to participate in decisions that affected them, having ratified ILO Convention No. 169.
JAMIL AHMAD, Deputy Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) New York Office, said the Programme was improving its engagement with its partners and indigenous peoples, having ensured indigenous peoples’ participation in relevant workshops, meetings and conference throughout 2014. Frameworks, such as the recently approved Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability Framework, aimed to ensure that projects respected indigenous rights. Those frameworks, guidelines and projects had “greatly” improved through the substantial and direct inclusion of indigenous experts and their expertise.
ALEXEY GOLTYAEV (Russian Federation) said the outcome document had become a quintessential aspiration of the international community, underscoring that his Government had supported its adoption as another step towards settling the question of indigenous peoples’ rights. The outcome document represented the culmination of the second International Decade. It was important to focus on the sustainable development of indigenous peoples, work that should not lead to duplication within the United Nations, notably the international human rights monitoring mechanisms and bodies. The idea to allocate monitoring powers to the Expert Mechanism, or to the Forum itself, should be analysed within the context of international law.
RUCI SENIKULA, Disability Indigenous Peoples Caucus, drew attention to the difficulties faced by indigenous peoples with disabilities in accessing development programmes and funds, education, employment, health care and transport services. They were over-represented among those living in absolute poverty. As such, she applauded States for adopting the outcome document. The high level of poverty indigenous peoples’ with disabilities affected their participation in international forums. She urged attention to that issue to ensure that they were included in the new development agenda, with targets and indicators. She was disappointed by the so-called study on indigenous children in rural areas, which was to have been carried out in 2014. She recommended that study be re-introduced as indigenous children with disabilities, advocating that a database be developed on indigenous children with disabilities living in rural areas.