Economic and Social Council

The “diversity of poverty” should be recognized in efforts to meet the needs of indigenous people, whose distinctiveness should be also used as an asset to catalyse their economic development, Jean-Philippe Audinet, Director of the Policy Division at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), told the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today as delegates continued their in-depth dialogue with United Nations agencies.

In a roll-call vote today, the resumed session of the Committee on Non-governmental Organizations rejected a proposal to recommend special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for the Democracy Coalition Project, even as it recommended that status for 10 organizations, postponed consideration of 15 applications, pending receipt of additional information and closed the file on one group.

As representatives of United Nations agencies and funds shed light today on their respective strategies to address indigenous peoples’ concerns, members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and indigenous peoples’ organizations worldwide implored the United Nations to change its working methods so that indigenous peoples were the driving force behind –- and not merely the object of ‑- those efforts.

The resumed 2009 session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organization considered 123 quadrennial reports submitted by groups in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, taking note of 110 and deferring 13. It also postponed consideration of one application for consultative status and addressed other items on its agenda.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continued its discussion of human rights today amid calls for Governments tostrictly carry out their obligations under international human rights accords, notably in the Amazon where protests by native inhabitants recently erupted after moves to open the region to oil and mining by foreign companies without their consultation.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended four entities for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. Pending receipt of requested information, it postponed consideration of 22 others.

As the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continued its eighth annual session this afternoon, the United NationsSpecial Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, shed light on his recent efforts to redress their grievances over the deeply-rooted disregard for their values and land rights by Governments and corporations.

Recommending consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for nine entities today, the 2009 resumed session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations also closed the file on two applications and postponed its consideration of 11 others pending receipt of additional information.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples continued its eighth annual session today, with indigenous speakers decrying Governments’ near-total disregard for their rights in the development of roads, waterways and extractive projects; negotiation of free trade agreements; and drafting of national legislation that impacted their lives.

In an agreement that signals a significant convergence between developing and developed countries on key issues, countries agreed on a wide range of policy options and measures at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to address the food and climate crises in a manner that improves the wealth and well-being of people while protecting the environment. The Commission reached its agreement on Friday evening, as it concluded its seventeenth session.