The 23rd session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is being held at the UN headquarters in New York from April 15 to 26. 

The theme of the session is “Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination in the context of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: emphasizing the voices of Indigenous youth”.

Who are Indigenous Peoples?

• Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced. 

• The land and natural resources on which they depend are inextricably linked to their identities, cultures, livelihoods, as well as their physical and spiritual well-being.

• Indigenous peoples have in common a historical continuity with a given region prior to colonisation and a strong link to their lands. They maintain, at least in part, distinct social, economic and political systems. They have distinct languages, cultures, beliefs and knowledge systems. 

• There are over 476 million indigenous people living in 90 countries across the world, accounting for 6.2 per cent of the global population, but account for about 19 per cent of the extreme poor. 

• They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.

• They are nearly three times as likely to be living in extreme poverty compared to their non-indigenous counterparts.

What is the role of UNPFII?

• The Permanent Forum is one of three UN bodies that is mandated to deal specifically with Indigenous Peoples’ issues. 

• The others are the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

• The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is a high-level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 

• The Forum was established in July 2000 with the mandate to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

Functions of UNPFII:

i) Provides expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the Council, as well as to programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations, through ECOSOC.

ii) Raises awareness and promotes the integration and coordination of activities related to indigenous issues within the UN system.

iii) Prepares and disseminates information on indigenous issues.

iv) Promotes respect for and full application of the provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and follow up the effectiveness of this Declaration.

• The first meeting of the Permanent Forum was held in May 2002, with yearly sessions thereafter. 

• The Forum usually meets for 10 days each year at the UN headquarters in New York.

Six mandated areas of the UNPFII:

i) Economic and Social Development

ii) Culture

iii) Environment

iv) Education

v) Health

vi) Human Rights.

• In addition to the six mandated areas, each session is thematically focused on a specific issue.

• The UNPFII consists of 16 members. Of these, eight members are nominated by governments and elected by the Council, and eight members are appointed by the president of the Council.

Additional read:

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

The UN Charter established ECOSOC in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the United Nations. ECOSOC consists of 54 members, 18 of which are elected each year by the General Assembly for a three-year term.

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