Human rights

The fifteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child today elected nine Committee members for a four-year term while appointing Marjon V. Kamara (Liberia) as the Chairperson.

The thirty-fourth Meeting of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights re-elected three members to the Human Rights Committee today, while choosing five new ones and filling one vacancy on the monitoring body.

The Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities concluded its work today, took three decisions and laid the groundwork for its next session.

As the world discussed the post-2015 landscape, it was vital that inclusive sustainable development built a better future for all people, especially for those living with disabilities, said Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, as the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities opened its seventh session today.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues concluded its thirteenth session today, sending nine draft reports to the Economic and Social Council containing proposals, recommendations and five draft decisions, including a call for the General Assembly President to act swiftly to ensure the fullest participation of indigenous peoples in all aspects of the World Conference set for September.

Protecting indigenous traditional knowledge, creating inclusive political systems and halting Government land grabs should be among the priorities guiding the future work of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, delegates heard today on the penultimate day of the body’s two-week thirteenth session.

While progress had been made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, indigenous peoples were disproportionately represented in those still unfulfilled, especially poverty reduction, speakers in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said today, urging that a multicultural vision of humanity guide the formulation of the post-2015 development agenda and that their voices be respected in each crucial stage of deliberations.

Fighting racial discrimination and striving to be acknowledged by States were among the challenges facing indigenous communities worldwide, requiring more collaborative efforts to effect meaningful change, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today during its day-long consideration of human rights.

Indigenous peoples must be able to participate fully, equally and effectively in all stages of the upcoming high-level General Assembly meeting to address their most important concerns, speakers said today as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues debated — at times forcefully — the essential elements for contributing to the unprecedented event.

Against a backdrop pockmarked by cultural disintegration, “suicide clusters” and family displacements from extractive industries, speakers today in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples urged prompt and concerted action to reverse those trends and improve the lives of indigenous children and youth worldwide.