Center and partners seek permanent status for indigenous governments at the UN

On September 22, 2015, the Human Rights Council held a half-day panel discussion on follow-up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.

The Indian Law Resource Center, in a joint statement with Americans for Indian Opportunity, the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians, National Congress of American Indians, and the Native American Rights Fund, addressed the UN to urge follow-up actions to advance decisions of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. Heather White Man Runs Him, Attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, offered the statement to the Council.  The statement included concrete recommendations about an implementing and monitoring body for the UN Declaration, proposed the development of new rules to ensure the permanent participation of indigenous governments in the UN, and called for specific actions to combat violence against indigenous women. The statement also urged the Council to ensure the full participation of indigenous peoples, their representatives and institutions in all this work.

The panel discussion was chaired by the Vice-President of the Council, H.E. Mr. Juan Esteban Aguirre Martinez, and moderated by Ms. Victoria Tauli Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. Panelists included Mr. Albert Kwokwo Barume, Member of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Ms. Mirna Cunningham Kain, Member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples; Mr. Alejandro Gonzalez Cravioto, Director for International Affairs of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples; and Ms. Jannie Lasimbang, Secretariat Director of Jaringan Orang Asal Se Malaysia. Ms. Mona Rishmawi, Chief of the Rule of Law, Equality, and Non-Discrimination at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights provided the keynote.

The panel will result in a summary report including a set of recommendations on concrete measures for implementation of the World Conference outcome document and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. More information is available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session30/Documents/Draft_concept_note_indigenous.doc