July 11, 2016 | Geneva, Switzerland
This week Center attorney, Karla General, is taking part in meetings of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Expert Mechanism will meet this week in Geneva from July 11-15, 2016, for its ninth annual meeting since its establishment in 2007. The Mechanism provides thematic advice in the form of studies to the UN Human Rights Council. For more information about the ninth session, click here.
The Center's statements and proposals support modification of the Expert Mechanism to authorize it to monitor and implement states' compliance with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly where it concerns the rights of indigenous women and children. The Center also expressed support for changes to the UN system to enable the participation of indigenous governing institutions which, at present, cannot participate in their own right in important meetings of the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council, which adopt annual resolutions on indigenous issues. It is likely decisions on these two important advancements in the rights of indigenous peoples will be made by the United Nations as early as this fall.