The recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination, autonomy and self-governance must be woven into the post-2015 development agenda to ensure inclusive political participation and a sharpened focus on outstanding land disputes and other pressing concerns, delegates heard as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues discussed emerging issues and continued its segment on rights.
As a thematic advisory body of the Human Rights Council, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples must include the full, effective, and equal participation of all concerned communities, speakers stressed today, as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held a discussion on an optional protocol to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous peoples lived in situations of extreme social and economic disadvantage, speakers in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said today, pressing Governments to improve their access to basic services, respect their traditional livelihoods, and both return — and protect — the sacred lands on which their survival depended.
Standard measurements of well-being did not capture the distinct economic, social, and cultural aspects of indigenous peoples’ lives, speakers in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said today, as they explored the type of information needed to accurately quantify their unique development experiences and how to collect it.
Indigenous peoples represented 15 per cent of the world’s poor and faced huge disparities in terms of hunger, malnutrition and access to health care, even in developed countries, speakers in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said today, stressing that their distinct identities and rights should be recognized in the post-2015 development agenda.
Now 15 years old, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was in “real need” of reform to better respond to the socioeconomic, cultural and human rights concerns of its constituents — both within their respective territories and throughout the United Nations system, speakers stressed today as the 16-member body moved into day three of its fourteenth session.
More than 2,000 indigenous participants from all regions of the world are expected to attend the fourteenth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 20 April to 1 May, where Members of the Permanent Forum will engage with indigenous peoples, United Nations Member States, and United Nations agencies.
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.
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.
