The Indigenous World 2023: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Permanent Forum) is an expert body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with a mandate to provide advice on Indigenous issues to ECOSOC and, through it, to the UN agencies, funds and programmes; to raise awareness on Indigenous Peoples’ issues; promote the integration and coordination of activities relating to Indigenous Peoples’ issues within the UN system; and promote respect for and full application of the provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and follow up on its effectiveness.
Established in 2000, the Permanent Forum is composed of 16 independent experts who serve a three-year term in a personal capacity. They may be re-elected or re-appointed for one additional term. Eight of the members are nominated by governments and elected by the ECOSOC, based on the five regional groupings used by the UN, while eight are nominated directly by Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and appointed by the ECOSOC President, one for each of the seven socio-cultural regions that broadly represent the world’s Indigenous Peoples, with one seat rotating between Asia, Africa, and Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The Permanent Forum has a mandate to discuss Indigenous Peoples’ issues relating to the following thematic areas: culture, economic and social development, education, environment, health and human rights. The Permanent Forum meets each year for 10 working days. The annual sessions provide an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples from around the world to have direct dialogue with members of the Forum, Member States, the UN system, including human rights and other expert bodies, as well as academics and NGOs. The Permanent Forum prepares a report of the session containing recommendations and draft decisions, which is submitted to ECOSOC.
21st session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Given the continuing COVID-19 situation and travel restrictions, the Permanent Forum took place in a hybrid format from 26 April - 5 May 2022. The special theme of the 21st session was “Indigenous Peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence, including free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)”. Throughout the year, members of the Permanent Forum continued to carry out the forum’s mandate, readjusting to new and changing circumstances.
The report of the session[1] highlights how Indigenous Peoples lack recognition and face poor implementation of their rights and flagrant violations of their rights and their lands, while the need for their FPIC and the right to autonomy and self-government is disregarded by local businesses and transnational corporations involved in mining, logging, and oil and gas extraction, among other sectors. The forum noted that ensuring a human rights-based approach to Indigenous Peoples’ rights to land, waters, territories and resources, governance and secure customary tenure is essential for their continued contribution and significant role in achieving the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Indigenous lands, waters and territories need to be recognized directly and as a category separate from “protected areas” or “other effective area-based conservation measures”, including when recognizing the land rights of Indigenous women.
In addition to the special theme, the Permanent Forum also discussed the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032), Indigenous women and girls, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The forum also noted the ongoing killings, violence and harassment of Indigenous human rights defenders, including Indigenous women, in the context of resisting mining and infrastructure projects and other such developments. Challenges faced by Indigenous human rights defenders featured in dialogues with the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum decided on the special theme of “Indigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change: a rights-based approach” for their 2023 session.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated annually on 9 August. In 2022, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs organized a commemorative event with the theme: The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge.[2] Participants included Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, UN entities, Member States, civil society, relevant stakeholders and the general public.
The event featured video messages from the UN Secretary-General, the World Health Organization’s Director-General and the Chair of the Permanent Forum. This was followed by an interactive dialogue.
International Expert Group Meeting on Truth, Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Processes
At its 2022 session, the Permanent Forum recommended the theme of the Expert Group Meeting as “Truth, transitional justice and reconciliation processes”, and this took place from 15-17 November 2022 at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
During the two-day meeting, experts discussed the following themes: conflict resolution; truth, transitional justice, and reconciliation (both in international law and the UN system); barriers preventing Indigenous Peoples’ participation; examples of lessons learned from work carried out by and with Indigenous Peoples; standards and policies for conflict resolution, truth, transitional justice, and reconciliation, and strategies to identify gaps and challenges together with a possible way forward.
Experts noted the challenges in bringing States to dialogues that recognize the equal value and standing of Indigenous Peoples’ reconciliation and justice systems. It was noted that, in some cases, States are interested in the process of reconciliation but not necessarily in hearing or acknowledging the truth. Further, transitional justice is limited in that it tends to focus on ending a specific conflict while ignoring the wider underlying issue of colonialism. Experts emphasized the importance of Indigenous truth reaching the public, as opposed to the more mainstream biased perspectives that tend to dominate communications.
Furthermore, experts stressed that the core goals of Indigenous Peoples’ socio-economic systems are prosperity, harmony, peace, sustainability, reciprocity and responsibility for the whole community. States have, however, traditionally viewed these systems as barriers to “development” and adopted policies to ban or destroy them. Structural inequities and inequalities are further reinforced by discriminatory legislation and oppressive laws, which ignore Indigenous Peoples’ customs and other systems. In such situations, Indigenous governance systems are on the brink of extinction. And yet Indigenous Peoples themselves can revitalize their systems for the betterment of Indigenous Peoples and their communities. Participants called on States to respect Indigenous governance systems and recognized Indigenous authorities in State dialogue mechanisms.
The meeting was attended by Indigenous experts, Members of the Permanent Forum, UN entities, academics, NGOs and Indigenous Peoples. A report of the expert group meeting will be presented at the 2023 Permanent Forum session.
System-wide Action Plan on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) for Indigenous issues consists of more than 40 UN entities and other international organizations that have the main task of implementing the System-Wide Action Plan on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (SWAP). SWAP was officially launched by the UN Secretary-General in 2016 at the 15th Session of the Permanent Forum.[3] The Indigenous Peoples and Development Branch/Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (IPDB/SPFII) is the permanent co-chair of the IASG and plays a central role in implementing the SWAP. In 2022, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was a co-chair of the IASG.
In 2022, the IASG continued working on the implementation of the Call to Action of the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB): building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future with Indigenous Peoples.[4]
UNDESA, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNESCO, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), with the support of the Development Coordination Office (DCO), organized three roundtables with Resident Coordinators (RCs) on Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and its Potential to Advance Sustainable Development; on Protecting Indigenous Human Rights Defenders; and on Promoting Participation of Indigenous Peoples in National Development Processes in the first quarter of 2022.
The 43rd session of the UN High-Level Committee on Programming (HLCP) CEB met and discussed the progress report presented by IASG on the CEB Call to Action implementation in April 2022 and made new recommendations.[5] The overall reaction was positive, with the HLCP pointing to the value of IASG’s role and appreciating the vision for a proactive, human rights-based approach and the emphasis on disaggregation of data related to Indigenous Peoples. Members valued the organization of the roundtables and the engagement with RCs and UN Country Teams (UNCTs).
In the second half of 2022, the IASG continued following up on the recommendations emanating from the CEB, with two working groups: 1) Engagement with RCs, UNCTs and Indigenous Peoples and, 2) SWAP Indicators.
The IASG participated in a clinic on diversity and inclusion with RCs, attended by more than 120 Resident Coordinators on 19 October 2022. UNDESA represented the IASG and highlighted UNDRIP, the SWAP-Indigenous Peoples and the CEB Call to Action.
Members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues – 2023-2025
The members of the Permanent Forum from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025 are as follows: Mr. Vital Bambanze (Burundi), Ms Tove Søvndahl Gant (Denmark), Mr. Ali Hajilari (Islamic Republic of Iran), Mr. Keith M. Harper (United States of America), Ms Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Chad), Ms Aluki Kotierk (Canada), Ms Li Nan (China), Mr. Suleiman Mamutov (Ukraine), Mr. Bornface Museke Mate (Namibia), Ms Hannah McGlade (Australia), Mr. Darío José Mejía Montalvo (Colombia), Ms Naw Ei Ei Min (Myanmar), Ms Hanieh Moghani (Islamic Republic of Iran), Mr. Rodrigo Eduardo Paillalef Monnard (Chile), Mr. Geoffrey Roth (United States), Ms Valentina Vyacheslavovna Sovkina (Russian Federation). More details on the Members can be found online.[6]
Please visit the UNPFII website for more information about the Members and the selection process: www.un.org/indigenous
This article was written by the Indigenous Peoples and Development Branch-Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
This article is part of the 37th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. Find The Indigenous World 2023 in full here.
Notes and references
[1] United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “Report on the twenty-first session (19-30 April 2021).” https://undocs.org/en/E/2021/43
[2] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Indigenous Peoples. “International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022.” https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples-2022.html
[3] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Indigenous Peoples. “System-wide action plan (SWAP).” https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/about-us/system-wide-action-plan.html
[4] United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination. “Building an Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Future with Indigenous Peoples: A Call To Action.” 2020, https://unsceb.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/CEB-Call-to-Action-Indigenous-2020-WEB%20%281%29.pdf
5 United Nations System Executive Board for Coordination. Second Regular Session of 2022. 27-28 October 2022, https://unsceb.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/CEB.2022.2.SOD_.Advance%20Unedited%20Version.pdf
[6] United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “Membership of Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.” 2023, https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/unpfii-sessions-2/newmembers.html
Tags: Global governance
