{"id":108844,"date":"2023-04-17T16:13:08","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T20:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=108844"},"modified":"2023-04-17T16:13:34","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T20:13:34","slug":"press-release-global-protection-of-indigenous-peoples-rights-united-nations-issues-call-for-human-health-and-environmental-safeguards-at-annual-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2023\/04\/press-release-global-protection-of-indigenous-peoples-rights-united-nations-issues-call-for-human-health-and-environmental-safeguards-at-annual-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release: Global Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: United Nations Issues Call for Human, Health, and Environmental Safeguards at Annual Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Global Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: United Nations Issues Call for Human, Health, and Environmental Safeguards at Annual Forum<\/strong><\/h3>\n

New York, 17 April 2023 \u2013 The 22nd<\/sup> Session of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵPFII), the largest international annual gathering of Indigenous Peoples, begins today at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters in New York and will run until 28 April 2023. The priority theme for this year\u2019s session is \u201cIndigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change: a rights-based approach\u201d. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year, the Forum serves as an opportunity to highlight the urgent need to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter begins with \u2018We the Peoples\u2019. However, at the United Nations, not all peoples have the same status to converse on global issues. Thanks to the enormous efforts of the Indigenous Peoples of the world, today we have the Permanent Forum as the primary platform where Indigenous Peoples can exchange ideas and discuss with States and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entities\u201d, said Mr. Dario Jose Mej\u00eda Montalvo, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Forum provides an opportunity to listen to the perspectives of those who have been marginalized, but who have always provided solutions to the enormous challenges facing humanity and our survival on the planet\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

Indigenous Peoples are among the first to face the direct adverse consequences of climate change, due to their dependence upon, and close relationship with the environment and its resources. There are an estimated 370 million Indigenous Peoples whose livelihoods are affected by climate change worldwide. The global pandemic proved that Indigenous Peoples are often disproportionately affected by epidemics and other crises, with Indigenous women and girls particularly negatively affected due to their gender, ethnicity and scarce economic resources. As States continue to work to respond to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that they also focus on tackling the root causes of social and health inequalities of Indigenous Peoples through Indigenous determinants of health.<\/p>\n

Over 1,000 participants are expected to attend the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵPFII which opened this morning in the General Assembly Hall, with a ceremonial welcome by Chief of the Onondaga Nation, Tadodaho Sid Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome your focus this year on the intersection of human and planetary health, the climate crisis, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. I salute Indigenous movements across the world \u2013 often led by women and young people \u2013 for spearheading efforts to protect nature and to preserve biodiversity,\u201d said Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, as he addressed the opening of the Forum. \u201cFor thousands of years, Indigenous Peoples have pioneered sustainable land management and climate adaption.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs guardians of 80 per cent of the world\u2019s biodiversity, you hold traditional proficiency in how to adapt, mitigate and reduce climate risks,\u201d Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si, 77th President of the General Assembly, told the opening of the Forum. \u201cBy following your guidance, we can be much better positioned to fulfil the SDGs. I invite you to enrich our understanding and bolster our quest for transformative solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other high-level speakers delivering statements included the President of the Economic and Social Council, Lachezara Stoeva, Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Dario Jose Mejia Montalvo, and Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua. The President of Colombia Gustavo Petro, and the United States Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, also addressed the Opening Ceremony.<\/p>\n

The Permanent Forum will discuss issues relating to the priority theme, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and hold meetings with the Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples, and the Expert Mechanism on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n

All sessions can be viewed live on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Web TV<\/a>, and interpretation in all six official Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ languages will be available.<\/p>\n

Cultural Event <\/strong><\/p>\n

On the evening of 18 April, a cultural event for accredited Forum participants will take place at the Shed on 545 West 30th Street, in collaboration with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA. Participants will be able to visit the exhibition The Yanomami Struggle<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>an exhibit presented by Fondation Cartier which is dedicated to the collaboration and friendship between artist and activist Claudia Andujar and the Yanomami people, one of the largest Indigenous groups living in Amazonia, Brazil. The event includes a series of cultural performances and a closing set by Indigenous DJ Eric Terena.<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indigenous Peoples make up less than 6 per cent of the world\u2019s population, but account for 15 per cent of the poorest. They live across some 90 countries, represent 5,000 different cultures and speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 6,700 languages.<\/p>\n

Indigenous Peoples have historically been custodians of the environment and protectors of biodiversity, and have time-tested solutions to offer to the challenge of climate change facing us all. Nearly 70 million depend on forests for their livelihoods, and many more are farmers, hunter gatherers or pastoralists. These communities thrive by living in harmony with their surroundings. Research shows that where Indigenous Peoples have control of the land, forests and biodiversity flourish.<\/p>\n

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was established by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2000. The Forum provides expert advice and recommendations on Indigenous issues to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ System through ECOSOC; raises awareness and promotes the integration and coordination of relevant activities within the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ System; and disseminates information on Indigenous issues.<\/p>\n

The Permanent Forum is comprised of 16 independent experts, functioning in their personal capacity. ECOSOC appoints the members, eight of whom are nominated by Governments and eight by Indigenous Peoples\u2019 organizations from different regions of the world. The Forum has gained increasing recognition and impact as the global platform for dialogue, cooperation and concrete action on Indigenous Peoples, with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples<\/a> as the fundamental framework.<\/p>\n

For media queries <\/strong>please contact:<\/p>\n

Martin Samaan<\/strong>, United Nations Department of Global Communications, samaanm@un.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Gemma Kentish, <\/strong>Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA, gemma.kentish@un.org<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information<\/strong>, please visit Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵPFII 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Global Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: United Nations Issues Call […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5270],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-material"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108844\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}