The very survival of indigenous peoples depended on States taking swift action to rapidly recognize and respect all human rights, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today, concluding the first week of its sixteenth session.
The empowerment of indigenous women as powerful agents of change could only strengthen their communities and nations in the face of environmental and other challenges, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today.
Calls demanding respect for traditional lands, resources, knowledge and cultures rang through the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today, with participants from the North Pole to New Zealand pressing Governments to move beyond “paper promises” and uphold their rights.
Fearing a rollback of achievements in implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, speakers appealed to Governments to uphold commitments protecting the rights of all indigenous peoples and prevent a reversal of hard-won gains, as the sixteenth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continued today.
While progress had been made on a range of pressing challenges amid the world’s embrace of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, far more must be done to ensure that indigenous peoples were not left behind, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today, during the opening of its sixteenth session.
More than 1,000 indigenous participants from all over the world will be at United Nations Headquarters from 24 April to 5 May to attend the sixteenth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Closing its fifteenth session today, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues sent a series of far-reaching recommendations — on issues ranging from the preservation of indigenous languages to the prevention of suicide among indigenous youth — to the Economic and Social Council.
Calls for action to preserve indigenous languages took centre stage today as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues entered the penultimate day of its fifteenth session, also taking up such critical issues as health, education, human rights, economic and social development, environment and culture.
After 15 years, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues had matured into a unique platform for the exchange of knowledge, but must now find ways to ensure the implementation of its recommendations or risk losing its hard-won credibility, speakers said today while suggesting changes to consider in developing future work programmes.
Conflicts over land and natural resources — many of which turned bloody — continued to plague indigenous communities across the globe, stressed speakers today as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held two panel discussions focused on peace, conflict and resolution.