6th Meeting, 19th Session Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP)

Pasta Tabriz anpaskyakian Kayah Kanyi.
Before continuing, I would like to recall that the UN Nation promotes dialgos and exchange between different actors with a view to promoting sustainable peace, development, and human rights.
All participants are encouraged to contribute to ERP in a spirit of conive multi stakeholder dialo, keeping a focus on the theme of the discussion.
The meeting of the expert mechanism on the right of indigenous people as any UN system event are guided by highest ethical and professional standards, and all participants are expected to behave with integrity and respect toward all participants attending or involving with any meeting of ERM.
We count on your cooperation to ensure that these standards are high to be a participant in this session.
We ask all participants to exercise decorum, avoid abuses or disrespectful language, or derogative of inflammatory remarks.
Good afternoon, everyone on behalf of the ERP.
I'd like to welcome the experts here today.
I'd like to welcome to doctor Albert Bar, special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, my sister Aluki Kir chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Matters, to Marine Etienne, chair of the Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples.
The MRP the MRIP is proud to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Affairs as complementary mechanisms which are mutually reinforcing within the UN system.
Although our mandates are different, we share common goals guided by the principle of consistency and avoiding duplicity.
As a subsidiary organ of the Human Rights Council, the MRIP provides normative knowledge and technical advice to the council, chiefly to support implementation of the URI.
We do it through thematic studies, cooperation with countries focused on dialogue and through cooperation annual sessions and advisory support to member states, to indigenous peoples and other stakeholders.
Special rapporteur oversees the human rights situation of indigenous peoples documenting alleged violations and making recommendations to prevent and remedy harm.
The permanent forum as the highest level advisory body of the Ecosoc tackles social, economic and political matters, and more broadly through a dialogue platform on policy in which multiple stakeholders take part.
Together, those mechanisms make up a consistent crucial framework for promoting the rights of indigenous people, which should be protected and strengthened in the distinct functions independently and mutually complementary.
The MRP wish looks forward to hearing updates on the work of the respective mandates so that without further ado, we will start this dialogue.
I'll give the floor to doctor Albert Bar, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples.
You have up to 8 minutes.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Distinguished delegate representative of Indigenous peoples, is a pleasure for me to be here.
It's extremely difficult to do justice to the work and what we get from indigenous people as a special rapporteur in 8 minutes.
I will be very succinct and maybe take a little bit less than 8 minutes.
I will make three major updates as really key information.
The first is giving you an idea of a trend on human rights violations affecting indigenous peoples because that is the focus of the special rapporteur as the only of the three mechanisms part of the special procedures.
Today, the mandate is able through communication, mostly that we get on daily basis and allegation of violation capture trend, and that trend is what I wanted to share with you today.
The trend, it's could be summarized as a stagnation and regression.
That stagnation and regression is driven mostly and as we all know, global contexts with pushback on human rights, but specifically for indigenous people, that trend is compounded by the prioritization of economic security, and other political interests over indigenous people's rights.
Today, US states have to decide whether to let investments or to protect indigenous people's rights.
The choice seemed to be easier.
So Indigenous people's rights implementation have really stagnated and is regressing.
In the last years, almost no single states have taken a new measure protecting indigenous people's rights, and states that had legal and policy framework are actively dismantling and regressing.
Dbetan parliament, tibetan cabinet, discussing how to pedal back on legal existing framework on indigenous peoples.
Today, indigenous people are resorting to court cases, but most of those court cases remain also unimplemented.
That's a trend we have in terms of human rights.
The second trend is a very escalating criminalization of indigenous peoples.
Indigenous people are arrested, detained, killing, and affected by hate speech, legal harassment, numerous cases, the mandate, we keep receiving multiple complaints.
Recent case includes killing of Albin Ramirez in Colombia, the murder of Layer Sandra in Mexico, killing of Guarani leaders in Brazil, and an indigenous person being on death row in Tanzania, and many as a case across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the entire world.
There is also a proliferation of hate speech, indigenous people in social media being harassed, indigenous people in detentions, including key indigenous people such as Daria in Russia and many others across the world.
We have what we know as Guardia Indigena community based organization, mostly led by indigenous young people being criminalized, harassed, and most of them detained.
Let me say this and we have had this in this room.
Indigenous peoples rights are not a threat to state.
On the contrary, the 20 years of the existence of the Declaration has no single proof that the recognition and protection of indigenous people have threatened, has divided state.
On the contrary, over those 20 years, states that have protected indigenous people's rights are more stable, are more inclusive, and are more equal.
My call to state as we look at the UN engage in the UN AT reform is to reinforce the protection of indigenous people's rights because indigenous people, not only they are nations, but they have a lot to contribute to global key challenge.
After all, the Declaration was written to reconcile indigenous people with states.
The 20 years has proven that where that declaration has been implemented, states are making progress and they are more inclusive.
My thematic reports this year, I decided as we get closer to celebrating the 20 years of the Declaration, to remind state of two key major issue.
The first is a historical and continuing contemporary violation of indigenous women reproductive rights.
I say in that report that when anyone want to erase an indigenous peoples or nation, there are two key target.
Those key target are first land and second indigenous women bodies.
Violation in that report, I do highlight that state are falling short of their international commitments on land rights, and rights, as I indicated, there is a total stagnation on implementing the territorial rights of indigenous peoples.
There have been some progress on legal recognition here and there.
Demarcation is almost stalling and once those rights are balanced with economic interests or private business epic is nowhere to be seen in most cases.
I call on states, as we celebrate the 20th of the Declaration, to reconsider and to be assessed on the basis of these two key human rights violations that are the foundations of indigenous people existence as a nation and as people.
One other key activity of my mandates are country visits.
Unfortunately, for budget constraints, Special Rapporteur can now only take one official country visits.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the government of Botswana for having allowed me to undertake my first mission in that country.
The report will be presented next session of the council in September.
It's key to note that the government has positively responded to my country mission and has made public its intention to ratify I I Convention 169.
My next mission is in November in Australia and I take the opportunity to thank the government of Australia and I look forward to engaging both the governments and indigenous people for the sake of that mission.
Let me finish, Madam Chair, by making a point on the youth.
I meet several time in private, in bilateral, and when I visit indigenous community indigenous youth.
Let me highlight that it's critically important that as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Declaration, as we press for the implementation of the Declaration, that the youth become center The parents, their grandparents spent tens of years negotiating those standards.
It's time that those standards are implemented.
That onus is on indigenous youth.
I hear from them, I listen, and I not their determination, their creativity, and their embedding into their community culture.
I believe states should and have to continue supporting indigenous youth.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much for that.
For all your work and especially for bringing to the table all the work that's been This is going to be done over the next few months.
I give the Chair of the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Affairs.
You have 8 minutes.
Anika.
Madam Chair, it is an honor to participate in this interactive dialogue on behalf of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues.
This dialogue provides an important opportunity to strengthen cooperation among the United Nations mechanisms dedicated to advancing the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples.
At a time of geopolitical uncertainty, pressures on multilateralism and persistent inequalities affecting indigenous peoples, closer collaboration is necessary.
The permanent forum has consistently emphasized that the effectiveness of the United Nations system depends on coordinated and complementary action.
The permanent forum, the expert mechanism, and the special rapporteur, the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous peoples, and the human rights treaty bodies each have distinct mandates and comparative advantages.
Together, they form a unique framework that promotes and protects the rights of indigenous peoples.
During the 25th session of the permanent forum earlier this year, the annual dialogue among the forum, the special rapporteur, and the chair of the expert mechanism reaffirmed that these mechanisms should be viewed as mutually reinforcing pillars of the United Nations human rights system and not as overlapping.
Each contributes in a distinct way.
The special Reperatory monitors and reports on violations, undertakes country visits and brings attention to urgent situations.
The expert mechanism provides thematic expertise, technical advice, and country engagement to support implementation of the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum provides policy advice and recommendations on economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health, and human rights.
The United Nations Voluntary Fund enables indigenous peoples to participate meaningfully in the United Nations processes, while the treaty bodies continue to advance international standards through their interpretation of human rights law.
Strengthening cooperation amongst these mechanisms through improved information sharing, coordinated follow up to recommendations, joint advocacy where appropriate, and enhanced support for indigenous peoples engaging with the UN will significantly increase our collective impact.
Madam Chair, across all regions, indigenous peoples continue to face serious and often escalating violations of their rights.
Armed conflict, climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, extractive industries, forced displacement, and widening inequalities continue to disproportionately affect indigenous peoples.
The permanent forum is deeply concerned by the shrinking civic space affecting indigenous leaders, women, youth, human rights defenders, and journalists, many of whom continue to face intimidation, criminalization, and violence.
In particular, the forum remains concerned by reports of intimidation and reprisals against indigenous peoples for engaging with the United Nations.
Such acts undermine both the safety of indigenous representatives and the credibility of the multilateral system.
Indigenous peoples must be able to cooperate with the United Nations freely, safely, and without fear of retaliation.
The Permanent Forum therefore reiterates its call for a stronger system wide response to intimidation and reprisals, including preventative measures, accessible reporting mechanisms, strengthened interagency coordination, and effective follow up.
We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with the Special Rapporteur, the expert mechanism, the Voluntary Fund, the treaty bodies, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Looking ahead, the Permanent forum will continue promoting the implementation of the Declaration and strengthening accountability for its recommendations.
We will continue to prioritize indigenous people's participation in decision making, the rights of indigenous women, children and youth, the protection of indigenous human rights defenders, and the advancement of indigenous people's rights in the context of climate action, biodiversity, conservation, sustainability development, and emerging issues such as digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
The protection of indigenous knowledge systems will remain central to this work.
The forum will also continue supporting implementation of the system wide action plan on indigenous peoples and strengthening coherence across the United Nations systems through the interagency support group on indigenous issues.
Indigenous peoples increasingly expect not only strong standards, but also greater coordination and effectiveness in implementing them.
Madam Chair, this year presents important opportunities to advance Indigenous people's rights.
The 2026 International Day of World's Indigenous Peoples, under the theme honoring Indigenous midwives, safeguarding life and well being, highlights the vital role of indigenous midwives in sustaining health, cultural continuity and indigenous knowledge systems.
It provides an opportunity to strengthen recognition and support indigenous health systems in line with the Declaration.
We welcome the first observance of the International Day of Indigenous Women on five September.
This historic milestone recognizes the leadership and contributions of indigenous women while drawing attention to the discrimination and barriers they continue to face.
We welcome the leadership of UN Women with the support of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in organizing this inaugural observance and encourage the full participation of indigenous women, member states, and UN entities.
In closing, I reaffirm the permanent forum's commitment to continue cooperation with all the mechanisms represented in this dialogue.
The challenges facing indigenous peoples are complex and interconnected.
No single mechanism can address them alone.
By working together, respecting our distinct mandates, while building on our complementary strengths, we can strengthen the United Nations systems support for the realization of indigenous people's rights.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples remains our common framework.
Our shared responsibility is to ensure its implementation with coherence, urgency, and accountability.
Kuanmi, thank you.
Thank you very much for that valuable report.
I want to thank you for all the work that's done by all the members of the members of the permanent forum for the Indigenous people.
It's my honor now to give the floor to Marcela Etienne, member of the Board of the Unvoluntary Fund, for Indigenous Peoples.
You have 8 minutes.
Madam Chair of Expert Mechanism Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Madam Members of the Permanent Forum, Special Rapporteur on Rights of Indigenous people, members of the committee on Elimination of racial Discrimination, People Representing Indigenous Peoples.
It's an honor for me to address the 19th session of the ERI on behalf of the Board of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples.
Created by the General Assembly in 1985, the Voluntary Fund, for Indigenous peoples has supported the participation of thousands of representatives, indigenous representatives, men and women participating in mechanisms and UN processes at the UN concerning their rights and interests.
This goal remains as relevant today as it was 40 years ago, since the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, then General recommendation 39 of October 2022.
The rights of indigenous women and girls lie at the heart of concerns.
This recommendation demands that states adopt tangible measures to eliminate intersexual discrimination and gender based violence and guarantee self determination.
Effective participation has become a prerequisite for its implementation.
As international processes concerning indigenous peoples continue to develop, the need to guarantee their effective participation has grown also.
Over the last 40 years, the funds mandate has evolved and has been expanded a number of times to provide more significant participation of indigenous peoples in the mechanisms.
Today, it supports not just participation of indigenous representatives in the expert mechanism, but also the permanent forum.
The Human Rights Council, including through the UPR, in the treaty bodies, in the Forum on Business and Human Rights, in the Conference of Parties, to the UNF TC, and more recently in meetings linked to the Global Heritage Convention.
These successive expansions reflect the growing recognition that implementation of the Declaration means that indigenous peoples should participate in an increasingly broad spectrum of UN processes.
The Fund contributes to implementing this principle in practice.
Before highlighting some of the results in that respect.
Let me greet the beneficiaries of the fund who are with us today and who have broadly contributed to the success of this session.
Madam Chair, in 2025, the fund supported participation of 109 indigenous representatives from 45 countries during 13 meetings and at the United Nations, reflecting the commitment of the board of the fund to the inclusive participation.
Beneficeries included 61 women, 47 men, and one non binary person, as well as 40 young indigenous peoples, eight LGBT indigenous representatives as well as four indigenous peoples in situations of disability.
Behind each subsidy is indigenous representative, a voice bringing knowledge and priorities of his or her community in international debate.
During this session, the fund has supported 13 indigenous representatives coming from the different socio cultural regions.
The contribution of the fund exceeds broadly just individual meetings.
Former beneficiaries continue to be involved with the UN mechanisms, strengthening dialogue with governments, supporting indigenous organizations, and promoting implementation of international recommendations within their communities.
Experience has shown that effective participation doesn't just start when a representative takes the floor during a UN meeting, rather it begins much further upstream.
They share their knowledge within communities and through networks as well as contributing and identifying strategic points of engagement.
As a result, the work of the fund also supports preparation and exchanges with partners before and during UN meetings, including with independent experts and the UN agency Secretariat in order to ensure participation in the UN process, which is as informed and effective as possible.
Capacity building is from now on, a comprehensive part of the fund's work.
In 2025, the fund supported 27 capacity building sessions in five languages.
That reached more than 4,300 indigenous participants relating to themes as diverse as the UN mechanisms in Human Rights, climate negotiations, enterprises and human rights, or indeed the protection against reprisals.
These activities strengthen the ability of indigenous representatives to effectively engage in the international process and contribute to the implementation of the Declaration.
Chairperson, these results are encouraging, but they also demonstrate a key challenge.
The requests for support continue to increase yearly.
Nonetheless, at the current level of voluntary contributions, the fund can only support around three to 5% of candidates.
This gap reflects the growing call for support FTA participation and the requirement for larger and better predictable voluntary donations to allow the fund to respond to this context.
The fund must therefore evolve a properly funded, forecastable and sustainable contribution remains essential, although the member states remain a cornerstone of the fund.
The Trust also welcomes philanthropic donations and donations from civil society organizations as well as from other stakeholders committed to indigenous participation.
A challenge that continues to concern members of the board is intimidation and reprisals suffered by representatives of indigenous people involved in UN mechanisms.
These acts don't only impact the people directly concerned.
They can also discourage other individuals from committing to the UN process, thus jeopardizing the fund's mission to increase participation.
The board remains fully committed to supporting efforts at the UN level in order to ensure participation that is completely safe in the work of the United Nations and to combat acts of intimidation and reprisals.
Equally, the board is concerned by practical obstacles, in particular, delays and refusal in visa issuance.
This continues to prevent certain indigenous representatives from participating in some UN meetings.
We urge states to facilitate the issuing visas in a timely fashion so that representatives can get to their UN meetings.
Chairperson, As the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples approaches, there are a number of challenges before us, as well as much progress to be greeted.
The challenge remains to ensure effective participation.
That's one of the key challenges for the future for more than 40 years.
The voluntary contribution Fund for Indigenous people's participation has allowed thousands of indigenous representatives to get directly involved in the UN's work, contributing their knowledge, their perspective, and their priorities to the international discussions and decisions impacting their rights, continuing Making that possible is a shared responsibility.
I would like to thank my colleagues from the board of trustees, Pablo Dev Jane and Tucu for their involvement and commitment.
Most of them are coming to the end of their mandate.
This will also be my last statement on behalf of the voluntary fund because my own mandate is ending.
I'd like to thank the Secretary-General, Mr.
António Guterres, for his trust during my mandate and I hope that this will continue.
I will be able to work again for indigenous people.
I'd like to thank Mr.
Mos Flores as well for his remarkable work.
Supporting the fund, I'd like to recognize your tireless commitment to Walter Dens people and the fund.
It was a privilege to work with you.
On behalf of the board of trustees, I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to all governments and partners whose voluntary contributions and collaboration makes the fund's work possible.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for this very, very valuable report.
We'd now like to pass the floor and I'd like to indeed welcome a member of the committee on the elimination of racial discrimination.
Mr.
Sal Vincent Vasquez, you have the floor for 8 minutes.
Axa, Rgpadu she said tossan which is Mags.
In Spanish.
Thank you very much, Chair.
For this opportunity and respectful greetings to all of those representing the delegations supporting this process, to the experts as well of the expert mechanism, to those representing indigenous peoples and their organizations, and to the members of the permanent forum as well as other representatives present in this meeting.
It's an honor to speak to you today in my capacity as an independent expert on the committee on the elimination of racial discrimination.
Third, this is an opportunity achieved following the request made by the Mexican government on my behalf for which I would like to express my sincere thanks, as well as to the 129 countries that cast their vote for me.
In that vein, I'd like to urge countries to continue to support our brothers and sisters, indigenous people to play a role in the UN treaty bodies.
Third comprises 18 experts whose role is oversight of the implementation of the International Convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
On progress made by states, as well as to communicate its recommendations in the form of concluding observations.
It also established three mechanisms through which the committee may examine the legal and administrative measures or other types of measures adopted by states to comply with their obligations in combating racial discrimination.
The committee therefore annually provides information to the UNGA concerning its activities.
It also makes general recommendations on any question connected to racial discrimination, which it considers states parties should lend more attention to.
That is to say, it provides an interpretation as to how the state should implement the provisions of the Convention.
Equally, the committee debates preventive measures, including early warning measures and urgent action procedures since the entry into force of the convention and the periodic review carried out by the committee throughout its existence and the reports on measures adopted by states parties to comply with their obligations as well as letters, declarations, and decisions under early warning procedures and urgent action procedures.
We have seen this all bear fruits in a number of countries and these include the following.
Reforms to national constitutions to include provisions prohibiting racial discrimination, as well as a systematic review of legislation and regulations that already exist in order to ensure racial discrimination is stamped out, as well as the promulgation of new laws to facilitate the requirements of the Convention.
This also includes provisions to establish the punishability of racial discrimination and legal guarantees against racial discrimination in the spheres of justice, political and social rights, and others.
As an example of the tasks of SED, during the COVID 19 pandemic, CED issued its Declaration 32020 where it highlighted that after a number of months of the pandemic, evidence demonstrated that that pandemic was disproportionately affecting marginalized and more vulnerable groups already impacted by racial discrimination, particularly those groups belonging to national or ethnic or religious or linguistic minorities as well as indigenous peoples.
It also highlighted that there had been reports of cases of sexual, psychological and physical violence against women belonging to indigenous minorities.
In that vein, in paragraph four, it declared that the unequal impact of COVID 19 is particularly relevant as regards the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
States must protect and mitigate the impact of the pandemic, people and groups suffering structural discrimination and disadvantages based on the provisions of the Convention, bearing in mind dimensions around gender, racial discrimination.
In subparagraph F, it said, of indigenous peoples, particularly those living in remote and isolated areas are particularly vulnerable to the COVID 19 pandemic.
States are obliged to ensure pursuant to positive measures, if necessary, the protection of the rights of indigenous communities living in their territory.
This is one example as to how SED responds to its mandate.
In this instance, it issued a declaration, that is to say, a interpretive statement to states parties.
Chairperson, distinguished Emirate members, sisters and brothers.
Equally, I would like to share with you that during the closing session of the 117th session of SED, it was said that I, the committee also declared the themes and orders in which the next three general recommendations would be written according to following general recommendation number 40.
These would be one, communities discriminated against for reasons of their labor, secondly, on indigenous peoples, and thirdly, concerning discrimination in the area of sport and leisure.
These will be the next three statements.
Pursuant to that, in 2027, we will see two key milestones for the rights of indigenous peoples.
There will be the anniversary of SED's general recommendation number 27 on Indigenous peoples.
It will also be the anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, going back to 2007 by the UNGA despite its modest scope, which will only be six operative paragraphs, the SED general recommendation I mentioned was the first to be adopted by a treaty body focusing exclusively on indigenous peoples and the protection of their rights.
I believe that a timely and concrete reaffirmation of this would be represented by an update of this general recommendation, not only taking into account the adoption of the UNDRIP as a key point of reference, but also the 30 elapsed years of CARDS practice, including its Cobbs, its jurisprudence, its relevant recommendations, and the letters and decisions issued in the context of the early warning and urgent action procedures.
Because of the foregoing chairperson, on the basis of Article 42 of the UNDRIP, and paragraph 29 of the final document of the plenary high level meeting of the UNGA, known as the Global Conference on Indigenous peoples, I would suggest to MRIP that it's embraced collaboration with SED in order to draw on its specialized contribution in the drafting of a general recommendation to review and strengthen general recommendation number 23 by SED.
It's update would provide additional guidance to states parties, bearing in mind the evolution in the rights of indigenous peoples and the comprehensive nature of guarantees of non discrimination and equality under the Convention as regards to those rights.
Such an act would be a timely opportunity to recognize historic achievements in 2027 and strengthen the guarantees around indigenous peoples.
That being said, I'd like to also take the opportunity of this moment to extend the invitation to chair of the permanent forum and all of its collaborators to take part in this process.
Thank you very much, sisters and brothers.
Thank you very much for that presentation.
Above all, for your invitation to collaborate in that project.
I'm sure that we can look forward to that work together.
It's extremely important work, indeed that has been already occurring to a significant extent in third already.
That being said, I'd like to pass the floor to the expert members of the mechanism.
The floor is open.
Annie, please.
Okay.
If there's no one who wants to take the floor, we will then move on to the list of speakers.
Network of Heritage has the floor for 2 minutes.
Thank you, Chair.
The Namquin, my name is Nikodms Cooper.
The Namkun Network of Heritage Advocacy welcomes this interactive dialogue and expresses its sincere appreciation to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous people, the E UN Unitary Voluntary Fund for Indigenous People, and the treaty bodies for their continued support in advancing the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide.
I speak on behalf of the Namquin and transboundary Indigenous peoples ancestral home extends across present day Botswana Namibia and South Africa.
Long before colonial borders divided our territories, the Namkan as part of the Koko people moved freely across our ancestral lands as nomadic pastoralists, maintaining our cultural identity, language, and traditional governance systems.
Colonialism, genocide, and forced displacement shattered that way of life.
Many Namkuan fled to what is now Botswana to escape extermination, living behind their ancestral lands, livelihoods, and sacred places.
Today, the consequences remain visible through cultural erosion, language loss, forced assimilation, unresolved historical trauma, and the continued absence of recognition for many diaspora communities.
We are particularly concerned that the ongoing discussion between government of Namibia and Germany on preparations on the Joint Declaration have largely proceeded without the meaningful participation of Namkan communities living in the diaspora, despite our communities being direct descendants of those displayed by the genocide.
We therefore respectfully call upon the UN mechanism to strengthen support for indigenous peoples affected by historical injustices and forced displacement and to encourage states to ensure that reparation, restorative justice, and reconciliation processes are inclusive of all affected communities regardless of present day borders.
We also encourage ERP to continue examining the long term impacts of colonialism, genocide, and historical injustices on indigenous peoples of Southern Africa, building upon its existing studies and provide a practical advice to states on addressing transform.
Thank you very much for that statement.
Joint State trivial Collective of Indian Alleviation Coordination Front of India has the floor.
It's for 2 minutes.
Thank you.
Your noble chairperson.
I urge the United Nations to call upon all member status to ensure the necessary arrangement for the effective participants of indigenous peoples and their representative in the United Nations.
At the same time, I urge that the issues raised by indigenous representative be taken seriously and that effort to be made to resolve them through dialogue with the concerned government.
In particular, I request the United Nations to eiously examine the contra between the statement made by the government of India and the United Nations in 1982, 1996, 2006 and 2007, and the presented by India's tribal representatives had to take many steps toward a lasting solution in the interest of India's tribal community.
I also urge the government of India to sign the ILO convention number 169 so that the tribal communities rights over water, forest land and their customary laws may receive proper protection and recognition for the long times in India, the history culture, language, second, natural site and traditional vers of tribal communities have been subjective to continuous attacks.
As a result, many tribal communities are losing their original identity and are being absorbed various social and religious group.
Today in India, tribal communities are struggling to reserve their traditional religion, fifth culture identity.
Therefore, I request to fully urge the United Nations and government of Thank you very much for that statement.
International Indian Drug Policy Alliance has the floor.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
My name is Jenna Rose and I'm Indigenous Modi from O Tala, New Zealand.
I speak on behalf of the International Indigenous Drug Policy Alliance and the International Coalition for Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice.
We wish to draw attention to the critical gap in the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to the ongoing impacts of drug policies on Indigenous peoples and our continued marginalization from forums that shape them.
Indigenous peoples experience exceedingly harmful impacts of drug policy, including disproportionate incarceration.
Criminalization of indigenous practices, barriers to accessing and developing biological heritage and culturally appropriate health care.
The prohibition premium along the drug supply chain fuels illicit and attractive economies, driving ecological degradation and contributing to climate crisis, militarization and violent fragmentation of indigenous communities and territories while undermining food security and sustainable livelihoods.
These harms undermine rights affirmed in Articles 318, 19, 2024, 29 30 and 31 of UI.
Impacts are compounded by the limited participation of indigenous peoples at the United Nations Commission on narcotic drugs.
The effective implementation of these rights therefore requires that international drug policy be developed and implemented consistently with UNDRIP.
We therefore recommend that the expert mechanism examine the implications of international drug policy for the implementation of UNDRIP.
Encourage states to ensure that drug policies are developed and implemented consistently with UNDRIP, Recommend that the General Assembly extend the mandate of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples to support Indigenous people's participation in C&D and other relevant drug policy processes.
Encourage sustained dialogue between the C&D, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Indigenous People's Representative institutions, and relevant United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms.
Full implementation of UNDRIP requires meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples.
Thank you.
What did you say? Thank you very much for that statement.
I now recognize women from the Ethnic Commission for Peace in the Defense of Territorial Rights.
Greetings from the hearts of the women and men of Indigenous peoples in Colombia, to this territory of Geneva, to all sisters and brothers from the original peoples and to all those attending this meeting.
How many rights can a people lose before the world recognizes it? This is the question we bring today on behalf of indigenous people and particularly women in Colombia.
Colombia has borne the brunt of decades of fights and ethnic communities are currently trapped between armed leaders are murdered with impunity.
Boys and girls suffer forced recruitment in a persistent fashion.
The women bear the brunt of this.
They are the most displaced and have the greatest violation of their collective rights.
The Peace Agreements included an indigenous historic chapter eight years later, only 13% of those commitments have been fully complied with according to the Clock Institute.
Our consultation, which is a mandate in the Constitution continues to be ineffective and in less than a month, government which has dismantled the peace Agreements has taken over and as a result, there is a loss of hope.
Indigenous communities are the guardians of the environmental rights protecting all of our territories where the state is absent.
Food sovereignty of thousands of families depends on this.
In the territories which are most hit by the conflict, it is the communities and community leaders, in the majority women who ensure the guarantorship of this for the next generation to avoid the war that has been our scourge experts.
We would like to ask for an urgent recommendation to protect indigenous communities and the women leaders before the 7th of August when the government is to change in Colombia.
We have played our part, and now the Colombian state, the chair interrupts.
Thank you very much for your participation.
The International Career Support Association in a joint spation with the International Research Institute has the floor.
Are they present? If not, let's move on to the Indigenous Global Conference.
A Foundation.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Today, I would like to speak not from the written statement, but from the heart.
I would like to tell you a story that when during the time of Araf colonialism, When the foreigners asked the tribal people, can you prove that this land belongs to you, especially in the tribal territory of Mundas? Then the Munda tribal people, they said that we will dug all the graveyards which have got the stonehenge and the stonehenge has got the impressions of the bones of our ancestors.
Are these ancestors impression greater than the papers and the legal documents which you have? Ma'am, I would like to state that I am also the member of the global task force for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
The indigenous languages when we speak, there is a confusion between the word indigenous languages and indigenous peoples languages.
There are many countries who have not yet recognized the tribales, the Aboriginals as the indigenous peoples of the country.
Therefore, I would like to urge that since the indigenous peoples have not been recognized, so it is very difficult for the government to frame policies for the indigenous languages.
I hereby ask and urge all the governments that kindly recognize the indigenous people and also to ratify and to sign the documentation of ILO Convention 169.
Along with that, I would also like to state that the government of India to give recognition to the Adiivasis and the Shidul tribe as the indigenous peoples of India and also the other governments to give them recognition.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much.
I now recognize Guatemala, please.
That was a greeting in the Maya language as the speaking in Spanish.
Chairperson our delegation would like to express its determined commitment to the recognition, respect, and guarantee for the rights of indigenous peoples in line with the principles established in the international instruments.
In particular, in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we remain convinced that indigenous peoples possess inherent and inalienable rights, including the right to free determination, the right to consultation, and to free, prior, and informed consent.
The maintenance of the indigenous legal systems as well as the preservation of their cultures, knowledge, traditional wisdom languages, and traditions in general, enrich our national identity.
Nonetheless, our country has a number of challenges in the full respect for the rights of indigenous peoples.
Overcoming these depends on interrelated and significant actions.
In that vein, we are seeking to strengthen our efforts in a harmonized coordination between the national legal order and the indigenous legals.
Chairperson Guatemala reaffirms its political will to continue to build a country rooted in cultural diversity.
This must be a fundamental pillar for social inclusion and justice.
Our delegation appreciates the initiative undertaken in this space.
By tying this meeting to other mechanisms and supporting a constructive dialogue facilitating the due implementation of minimum principles and guarantees included in the Declaration.
Thank you very much.
The Chair, thank you very much.
I now recognizes Fellowship Bum.
Okay.
President Madam Chair, Distinguished members of the MRIP Indigenous Brothers and Sisters, my honor to address you on behalf of the 37 grantees from 29 countries taking place in the grant program of UNHCR.
We want to very much thank the UN voluntary Fund and the grants program for Indigenous peoples and those who've made it possible to participate here.
Given growing pressures on multilaterlism, these mechanisms are more important than ever to guarantee the full effect of safe participation of indigenous peoples in the United Nations.
As we approach the anniversary of the Up, Madam Chair, seen grave regressions in our rights, despoilment, pollution of our territories, lack of respect for ethic and criminalization and violence against those who defend continue to affect our people and undermine our right to self determination.
Therefore, our two recommendations are, first of all, we urge the ERIP to continue promoting effective implementation of the UNDRIP with special attention to Article 3, evaluating existing gaps and promoting tangible measures so that self determination should be a lived reality for our people.
Secondly, we urge the ERIP to urge the states and the UN system to guarantee financial political support supported by the UN voluntary Fund and other mechanisms dedicated to indigenous affairs.
These mechanisms are crucial to guarantee our participation and strengthen the implementation of our rights.
Given the profound, environmental, humanitarian crisis, we continue to uphold our responsibility to life, we protect our lands and waters, and we contribute from our lands, knowledge, and solutions that have been developed over generations.
Our participation is vital for the survival of our people and the future of the planet.
We trust that the United Nations will defend its foundational principles and will renew through concrete action its commitment to indigenous peoples.
Thank you.
I give the floor to the indigenous nations of French Guyana.
Not in the chain, not in the hole.
Like I guess I give the float Federation of Hang.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
The United Confederation of Taino People has been engaging in these spaces and other mechanisms since before and after the inception of the three dedicated mechanisms for indigenous peoples.
We are grateful that we have a UN voluntary fund for Indigenous peoples.
However, the fund can only assist those people who are attending a treaty body or mechanism for which they, the UN Voluntary Fund, have a UN resolution.
With the many policy changes and attacks to our environment, artificial intelligence, unmeasured project development, as well as other issues that are impacting indigenous peoples, we must ensure that an expansion is made to the UN voluntary fund to include other areas of participation.
Such as just Transitions and the UN CCD, just to give you an example.
The UN CCD is one of the three RIO conventions, yet the voluntary fund has no resolution that would allow it to fund indigenous peoples for this very important space.
The damage and harm to our land, such as mining, toxic disposal, decertification, drought, and land degradation is a irreparable damage to all forms of life and that of our future generations.
We hope that you can assist us at home.
When you see.
Thank you very much.
I give us the floor too.
Choices.
Chagoian voices.
Not in the whole network of youth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
President Thank you, Chair.
Distinguished members, representatives of the Indigenous people's mechanisms at the UN.
I'm Gabriel from the Pastor People in Colombia, member of the Latin American Caribbean.
We recognize the work of our elders.
We are here together to provide continuity.
To what's been developed so far and as a product of the coordination of states and indigenous peoples, we have the existence of the MRIP, the expert mechanism, the special rapporteur, and the voluntary fund.
As indigenous youth from Latin America, Caribbean, we recognize that mechanisms have allowed us to strengthen our capacity For impact, we can speak of the rights of indigenous peoples in a number of countries because a lot of work has been carried out from the local level up to the national level.
But there's still a lot of work to be carried out to ensure the full effective exercise of human rights as established in the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples, various issues at global level on violation of the rights of indigenous peoples are taking place, especially in our region, Latin America and the Caribbean.
We have a geopolitical situation which has seen regressions when it comes to the rights of indigenous peoples, political persecution of our leaders, discrimination, expulsion from our lands towards other places.
Are just some of the many problems facing us.
That's why it's important to continue joint work between states and indigenous peoples to assess progress in implementing the UNDRIP at its 20th anniversary based on the indigenous plans of actions in the various countries.
These should have dis aggregated data at a quantitative and qualitative level so that we can know exactly what the situation is with the rights of indigenous youth and older people adopting an intergenerational focus, taking as a basis the reports that we've put together.
In that regard, the voluntary fund, thank you very much, please.
I give the floor to Australia.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
We look forward to welcoming the special rapporteur to Australia in November and to continuing our dialogue on how we can advance implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of indigenous peoples through shared learning and ongoing partnership.
Chair, Australia welcomes the opportunity to provide an update on key developments since the 18th session, guided by our commitment to implementation of the UNDRIP in full partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
In 2025, Australia established the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People.
Led by a commissioner, the body strengthens accountability and oversight while centering the voices and lived experiences of indigenous children and young people to help drive systemic change.
Australia has also launched its first dedicated national plan to address the disproportionate rates of violence experienced by indigenous women and children.
Our ways, strong Was, our Voices, was co designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women and reflects a commitment to culturally informed community led solutions building on the national agreement on closing the gap.
The state of Victoria and its treaty with First Peoples finalized in 2025 represents a significant step towards recognizing self determination and embedding a new partnership between governments and First Nations communities.
Australia is also advancing economic empowerment led by indigenous peoples.
For the first time, a dedicated First Nations chapter was included in a bilateral trade agreement through the Australia United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
This is supported by a First Nations Action Plan.
Australia is also proud to chair IPECta for 2026 to 2027 and we are working with partners to strengthen indigenous leadership.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you for that statement.
I give the floor not Thank you, Madam Chair.
Just to say the various mechanisms dedicated to indigenous peoples are complementary.
These are mechanisms that are useful and that shouldn't be replaced.
First, I want to draw attention to these mechanisms on the extremely grave situation of the pastoralist people of Burkina Faso and Mali, whose territories have become battlefields, pitting state armed groups and state groups.
The Fu and Tuarreg have been targeted, pursued not just by the non state armed groups, but also by the state groups also who are meant to protect them.
That situation has seen grave human rights violations, forced displacement, destruction of subs of livelihoods and profound insecurity among those communities in Burkina.
Numerous allegations have called into question the defense and security forces as well as the armed groups.
In Mali, it has been Russian mercenaries, involved in these killings.
We therefore call on the Special Rapporteur, the Emir and the Permanent Forum to devote undivided attention to these human rights violations in Burkina and Mali to step up its assistance to help the pastoralists in the Sahel and engage in dialogue with the states involved.
So that the situation of indigenous people can be taken into account in the Sahel.
These are the actions that need to be taken.
Thank you.
I give the committee of Indigenous people of Russia.
I got.
Thank you.
Madam Chair.
Effective implementation on the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is impossible without safe, independent, unhindered participation of representatives of indigenous peoples in the work of UN mechanisms.
In many countries, independent organizations are being liquidated, representatives of indigenous peoples are being subject to repression for cooperating with the UN system and many have been forced to continue their human rights activities in exile.
Excluding independent voices from international dialogue deprives the UN mechanism access to credible, full information on the plight of indigenous peoples and so undermines the effectiveness of implementation of the UNDRIP, including Article 41, which gives grants to the UN specialized agencies the obligation to assist in its full implementation.
We urge the expert mechanism to consistently respond to cases of repression owing to cooperation with the UN and facilitate safe participation of indigenous representatives and their organizations, including organizations in exile and also stress that it's unacceptable to carry out any persecution or intimidation for people or organizations cooperating with the UN system.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I get the floor to Chief Willi Chai.
Greetings to all delegations in relation to Article 31 of the UN Declaration, on the rights of indigenous peoples, which protects the right to sports and traditional games.
I'd like to bring to the expert mechanisms attention a development of an example of this right in Canada, the establishment of an indigenous sports fund.
It's essential that self determined approaches to increasing access to all forms of sports and recreation for indigenous peoples, including those indigenous persons living with disabilities and to ensure that this fund continues to receive support by states and allies.
Relation to Article 22 on the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children, and persons with disabilities, we call for the support, recognition, and endorsement of indigenous led research which provide for indigenous people's rights based approaches through the development of indigenous elite athletes in all sports and traditional games.
Allow me to announce in concert with Canada's Truth and Reconciliation calls to actions 87 to 91 Currently underway is the planning for a third world of Indigenous games as a manifestation of our rich cultures.
We call for the support and endorsement of these games as an example of practical application and implementation of the UN Declaration that TRC calls to action and as an example of true reconciliation.
Finally, we invite all indigenous peoples, the four mechanisms, international sports organizations to join and support this important celebration of life, success and being well.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I give the floor to Mexico.
Apologies.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank the panelists for their interesting presentations.
We commend the presence of the Mexican representative expert, Mr.
Vasquez.
Mexico supports the complementary useful work carried out by the UN mechanisms on the rights of indigenous peoples.
All contribute to this course and are mutually reinforcing.
Madam Chair, Mexico is taking tangible historic steps to implement the UNDRIP.
Part of its 20th anniversary, thanks to constitutional reform of 2024, indigenous peoples in Mexico are recognized now as subjects of public rights with a legal personality and their own heritage.
It's been a fundamental step by the government to build a new relationship with indigenous peoples, recognizing them as collective agents whose practices and knowledge have contributed intrinsically to our historic nation building.
We're now consolidating this reform with the adoption of a complementary law for this.
Starting in 2025, we established a committee experts that has the participation of indigenous authorities to develop general law on indigenous peoples and communities, Afro Mexican communities through a project of collective construction.
This initiative is made up of eight books on the basis of principles of bioculturality, in legal pluralism, and pluurulturalism, lingualism stating that indigenous peoples are equal in dignity and rights and should not be subject to any kind of racism or discrimination so that they can fully exercise their self determination and autonomy and bolster their participation in national public life.
The bill will be submitted to a process of consultations with 16,000 plus communities of indigenous peoples and African Mexican peoples in Mexico and will be translated into the indigenous languages that are spoken in our country, thus, for the first time in Mexico's independent history, this full recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples through the single exercise recognizing their cultural greatness.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I give the floor indigenous people.
Greetings.
Thank you very much Chair, members of the mechanism and representatives of of Article 5.
I speak on behalf of the andians of the Tina Canhvoo de Brique region, known colonally as Puerto Rico.
Before beginning, we reaffirm a fundamental principle, the right of indigenous peoples to self representation.
Our voice emanates from the land.
Although we recognize the historic and cultural links of our diaspora, this has not received a mandate from territorial institutions to represent our position and realities within this mechanism.
In our indigenous councils, we exercise our sovereignty and self representation.
I come from the first indigenous nation of the Americas, the Abyala resisting the colonial invasion in five centuries ago.
In land illegally occupied by the US government, the Declaration of the Urip is still a It's still pending.
There's a lack of sovereignty, recognition of our rights to land, heritage, and resources in violation of Articles 318 and 26, 27 and 32.
This reality is made all the worse by the colonial dispossession and structural inequalities and reports from the rapporteur on extreme poverty in 2016 and 2022, and the report from the committee confirming the precarity and the urgency of our self determination.
As the Rapport on Indigenous people said in 2022, the lack of territorial protection is a structural violation of human rights.
Therefore, we urge one Special Rapporteur to address the situation of indigenous peoples in non autonomous territories or in areas like Boric and to make specific recommendations for people in colonial context, and we call them the fund to support the direct participation and ensure that that's legitimate representation within it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I give the Thank you, Chair.
We thank you for the opportunity for engaging in this important interactive dialogue.
We would like to express our continued concern regarding the ongoing defunding of the UN and its consequences for the participation of indigenous peoples.
We call on the UN and its member states to recall their obligation to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, also within the UN system itself.
The UN voluntary Fund for Indigenous peoples remain a crucial mechanism for ensuring the full, effective and meaningful participation of indigenous peoples in UN processes.
We therefore call for increased and sustained funding for the voluntary Fund.
In addition, we remain concerned about the continued conflation of indigenous peoples with so called local communities, also in the allocation of funding in UN subsidiary bodies and processes.
All funding mechanisms and UN agencies must uphold a distinctions based approach.
Madam Chair, we wish to convey our gratitude to the UN experts, including Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, who in relation to the situation in Galatyad Greenland, urged to respect international law and the right to self determination.
Genach, thank you.
Thank you very much for that statement.
I give the floor to Japan Japan has the floor.
No president of us greetings.
I'm Edith from the Auvia people in Guerrero in the south of Mexico.
Today, I come before this forum with great sadness and indignation, our lands, our bodies as women of indigenous people.
And the mountain is closing and we are dying spiritually and physically.
We're going through a war implemented by criminal groups that fight for power and control over ancestral lands where for thousands of years we have lived.
Cases of enforced disappearance in the Guerro Mountain, femicides, recruitment and forced displacement of entire communities in the Guero region is generating grave impacts at physical and spiritual level of our traditional lands, especially to our bodies, and that's why we call on the mechanism In cooperation with the permanent forum and special rapporteur to include in its future plan of work, a study to document the impact of what this violence is doing, the impact on health caused by this criminal war that we're experiencing right now, especially when it comes to the spiritual physical aspect of the Yosvinas and Mepaki peoples who live in that territory because if the lands of our peoples are ill and they're slowly dying, this is affecting us and it makes us ill and we're dying silently like the sons and daughters of the Earth.
We need to build peace based on equilibrium and respect for life.
That's the only way we can survive as humanity.
Thank you.
I give the floor to Thank you, Chair.
In 2019, the palace at Sugusku the historical seat of Lukyu Kingdom burned down in electric fire.
Sugusku was home of Lukyan Royal family during the Lukan Kingdom.
One aspect of Sugusku current reconstruction is the placement of the great dragon pillar which reinforced Japanese assimilation in Dukyo Archipelago.
Sugusku is one of the seven Usa heritage sites about Dukyu Kingdom, which the site are all denominated together in 2000 what the UNSCO website articulating the Sug Sku in particular is.
The great monument symbolized the pride of DQ people.
Currently, the reconstruction project is implementing the Japanese style by positioning the great dragon pillar to face each other.
However, this is a historical and not the direction in which the pillar faced before colonization.
The imposition of Japanese positioning of great drag on pillar is at odds with the Article 11 of the Andre.
Further, the luxury hotel project in Nanjoshi has no meaningful consultation with the Du Kuan community in Nanjoshi and free per and informed consent has not been obtained.
This hotel will be impinge upon Hamgaoai Ukinhanju at Nhat Kasa sacred site.
The latter is also designated as a cultural property by Nan Joshi.
Additionally, Yazachinu Urahala was designated nationally as constituent cultural property and associated with Aamikuu, the place where the sun goddess toued the Lukyo archipelago.
The construction project at Tugsku and Nanja is both in direct conflict with the Article 11 of Andrep.
The contribute to resortification of Dukyo archipelago and unfettered development of tourist site that are appropriate to Lukuan culture without respect for custom or limit to access eta.
Us Thank you very much.
I give the floor to Society for Treated Peoples.
Society for Threatened Peoples, please has the floor.
Not in the chamber, then I give the woman.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
The UN Declaration of Rights Indigenous Peoples establishes minimal requirements that states must abide by when upholding the rights of Indigenous peoples.
But Indigenous peoples require implementation at national level of the UNDRIP, Then repression begins against them.
Today, cooperation between the UN mechanisms must become not just an instrument of coordination, but a mechanism for timely protection of representatives of indigenous peoples who are subject to repression for cooperating with the UN system.
As you already know, currently in Russia, there is arbitrary detention of the co chair of the International Caucus of Indigenous Peoples for climate change Dayegov and Human Rights Defender for Indigenous people, Natalie Langar for peaceful human rights activities.
Such actions are direct violation of the principles of the UNDRIP.
We urge the NRIP to strengthen its cooperation with the forum, with the special rapporteur on Indigenous Affairs, with the treaty bodies, with OHCHR, with the voluntary fund to develop coordinated measures of response to repression for cooperation with the UN.
This coordination must provide for swift exchange of information joint contact with Russia, monitoring, inclusion of the names of Daria and Natalie in the reports, and call on Russia to immediately release these innocent women.
Protecting representatives of indigenous peoples is a top priority for implementing the UNDRIP, and ensuring that no person should be subjected to persecution for cooperating with the UN.
I thank you.
Thank you very much.
I recognize Mapuche Nation before the UN.
Thank you very much, Chairperson.
I address you on behalf of the Permanent Mapi mission to the United Nations to address the historic and legal kernel of the permanent conflict resulting from the continual illegal occupation of our territories by the states of Chile and Argentina.
The study by this mechanism concerning situations of conflict and post conflict is trenchant when it says that sustainable peace cannot be built on forgetfulness, rather on justice for our people.
The path towards justice has a clear and non negotiable road and that is strict compliance with historic treaties.
The occupation of Wall Mau is not a recent or simple phenomenon.
It doesn't simply come down to a question of public order, rather, it is the result of a systematic and unilateral violation of bilateral agreements by the state of Chile.
In particular, we call for the full respect for and enforcement of the Tapewy treaty signed in 18 25.
This treaty was not a benevolent concession.
It was a covenant of sovereignty and peaceful coexistence between two nations that explicitly recognizes our jurisdiction and our ancestral lands.
The violation of this and other historic commitments constitutes a fundamental act of structural violence, which is terrorizing our territories and displacing and polluting our waters through forestry and mining and criminalizes our traditional authorities.
We will not see peace nor reconciliation, nor the chair interrupts has the floor.
Thank you, Chair.
Our defenders continue to face harassment, civilians, ratging, arbitrary arrest, and criminalization.
We are concerned about the arrest of Pranab Doi in Asam India two days ago July 26th.
Therefore, we issue immediate and unconditional release Pranab Doi in Asam India and the criminalization of the indigenous people.
Continue judicial correspond of leaders of the Cora of People's Alliance in Philippines.
In Malaysia, structural changing, including displacement, land grading and resource extraction proceeds.
The Suburban Borneo Highway Project Work package 303-30-4305 impacted over 115 indigenous household place without receiving compensation while water pipe gravity and their water catchment area was destroyed.
Intra likewise, the whole Militia indigenous communities face systemic hurdles in securing formal reconnection of native customer right land.
We express our concern over the promotion and implementation of Pu 1991, which may undermine indigenous people traditional seed system.
Indigenous territories in Myanmar, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Philippines are affected by armed conflict mining infrastructure development and large scale of agriculture project.
Indigenous people in Papua, Indonesia have been designated for food extent and renewable energy projects and the Plyian and plan geothermal project in Baku, Targa Sinai, and Pach.
We recommend that UN PFI, the Special Rapporteur and the UN Voluntary Fund and the treaty bodies collectively coordinate in their respective mandates to translate these ground realities into the enforceable accountability.
We are directed to hold the country visit and report under your mandates, including encouragement of the indigenous people participation through the UN VF to proactively protect indigenous people, human rights defenders facing these escalating challenges.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much for that statement.
I now recognize the Institute of Race Equality and Woman Rights.
Thank you very much, Chairperson, distinguished members of the Expert Mechanism, Indigenous Reatives of states.
I am a daughter of historic leader of the mosquito people in Nicaragua.
Issues around indigenous rights at the United Nations and the forum was the last international space where the voice of my father was heard, denouncing the situation confronted by our communities and reaffirming his commitment to the independence, land autonomy and autonomy of the mosquito people.
My father was arbitrarily detained and for months, my family called for his immediate release seeking information concerning his whereabouts and his situation.
He was deprived of his freedom, kept in isolation, and submitted to psychological and physical torture and abuse during his detention and forced disappearance.
The Nicaraguan government gave over his body and officialized his death on the 31st of May.
My father died in state custody without any independent investigation clarifying the circumstances around his death.
My father was a symbol of identity, resistance, and hope for the mosquito people and other indigenous peoples and those of African descent.
He dedicated his life to defending our collective rights.
His death led to profound pain in our family and in our communities.
To date, my father's body has not been given back to our family to be able to say goodbye to him and give us closure in line with our cosmovism, spirituality, and tradition.
In the context of my father's death, six family members that traveled to reclaim his remains to bring them back to the community were detained by the police and authorities.
He's been 45 days disappeared.
We don't know their whereabouts.
We don't know their location and this increases my family's pain.
We fear the worst regarding these people.
He went to seek my father's remains.
Thank you.
Jaguar.
Thank you very much.
We now pass the floor to Canada, please.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
This panel discussion and today's interventions reflect the essential nature of the work and mandates of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, and the expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples.
They intersect and they are interdependent.
Paraphrase the former Special Rapporteur for Indigenous peoples, James Anaya, when decisions affect indigenous peoples, special differentiated measures are necessary because the normal democratic and representative processes usually do not work adequately to address the concerns that are particular to indigenous peoples who are marginalized in the political sphere.
The broad scope of the United Nations work requires special platforms to include indigenous people's particular interests, experiences, and priorities, which are reflective of their distinctive cultures, institutions, and ways of being and histories.
For these reasons, Canada supports the three distinct mechanisms, seeing them as having interconnecting, interdependent, and interrelated, yet different roles.
It is critical that they remain as autonomous bodies with unique mandates to bring forward a global understanding of respect for indigenous rights.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I call on Tradition Foundation.
Sorry, did you say Travision Foundation? Travision Foundation.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Chair, Distinguished delegates, my name is Bernard Sweeney and I speak on behalf of Travision Foundation.
I sit before you today as an Irish traveler from a pre colonial culture of Ireland.
Our story takes nothing away from anyone else.
It adds to a fuller understanding of how colonial legacies still survive in the present through exclusion, through racism, and psychological colonization.
Ireland was one of the earliest laboratories for English colonialism, and dispossession, forced settlement, culture erasure were sharpened there first and later exported around the world.
Our case is also a reminder that colonization is not just about skin complexion, it is about domination, inherent institutions and cultural suppression.
The Irish State continued an internal colonial approach to travel life, most clearly through the report that the Commission my tenancy, 1963.
That is simulation legacy is still ongoing to this day.
The human cost is severe.
Irish travelers have an average age of debt at 58.5-years-old compared to 76.7.
0.6 years the majority population and suicide accounts for nearly 10% of traveler deaths.
We've exhausted all domestic avenues.
We come here today because we believe the situation of Irish travelers raises serious questions under Ireland's obligation to stay a party international human rights treaties, including IRD.
We ask this mechanism and the wider United Nations systems to investigate whether continuing colonial structures are resulting in the ongoing violations of those obligations.
So we ask you to investigate, to recognize Irish travelers, native Irish speakers, and the Irish of the North as indigenous people.
Thank you.
Would you say.
Thank you very much for that statement.
I now recognize.
S.
Spain, please.
Thank you very much, Chairperson, delegates, Indigenous representatives.
Indigenous peoples are specific rights holders, as we all know, and as recognized by the international community in fundamental standards such as Convention 169 of the ILO and the UNDRIP.
This is particularly relevant during these times while we are approaching the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration in 2007.
The adoption of that Declaration was a fundamental milestone in a path towards progressing the cause of indigenous peoples.
It's right that in recent decades we have had important achievements in the development and recognition of indigenous peoples, particularly in Latin America, thanks to your work in your combat.
But it's also important to recognize that we are far from effectively and comprehensively complying with these rights in practice despite the fact that the majority of countries in Spanish speaking America have ratified those instruments.
Poverty, marginalization, inequality in health and education access have demonstrated that these rights have not been fully complied with.
And despite progress, there remain concerning data demonstrating backsliding, such as the number of indigenous rights defenders that are murdered yearly in defense of their lands or these rights.
As a result, the Spanish Corporation Association continues to support indigenous peoples as a priority of our action and we have developed a specific corporation program, the Spanish Coperation Agencies Indigenous Program, ACID by Spanish acronym that we have continued over the last 30 years and we will continue to strengthen for as long as it is required.
Thank you very much.
The Chair, thank you very much.
I recognize.
The Indian Council of South America, Ca, please.
Thank you very much Chair.
The Indian Council of South America, Cesar.
We'd like to speak on the subject of the free determination of indigenous peoples and nations on the occasion of this 19th session of the MRP.
This statement concerning free determination should be internationally recognized as is and on a par with the Universal Declaration on Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the forthcoming international decade on the languages of Indigenous people, which will span the years 2022 to 2032, we must create a convention to ensure the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations is enshrined and ensures free determination.
In its Article 3, indigenous peoples are entitled to free determination and pursuant to that right, they must be able to freely determine their political paradigm and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural developments.
This is generally prevented today by governments.
Thank you.
The Chair, thank you very much.
I now recognize the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of French Guyana.
Madam President Chairperson, thank you very much for the floor.
My name is Alexandra Summer and I'm speaking as an indigenous lawyer belonging to the indigenous people of French Guiana, a territory located in South America.
I'd like to draw the council's attention to the ramifications of the illegal pillage taking place in our territory.
This is destroying the Amazon.
It is polluting rivers with mercury and directly threatening the health and food security as well as the way of life of indigenous communities.
The French state.
Was committed to combat this scourge thanks to the RP inter ministerial tool which mobilizes the armed forces and the Gendery as well as several state agencies.
These operations tried to end these illegal operations.
Nonetheless, a number of operations around 100 remained active on the border between French Guyana Brazil and Surinham.
These continue to create pollution directly impacting our people.
Chairperson, we call on the French state to step up its AP mechanism to respond to indigenous peoples needs.
We expect concrete outcomes.
We also call for the strengthening of operational cooperation between France, Brazil, and Surinam in this regard.
These illegal operations are across border phenomenon, and only coordinated action between our three states will allow us to freely combat the networks working across the borders.
We also call on Brazil to strengthen the resources it's bringing to bear concerning the illegal trafficking across these borders in order to bring pressure to bear on France to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2007, guaranteeing our rights to our territory and environment.
Thank you.
The Chair, thank you very much.
I now recognize The Mediterranean Forum for the promotion of citizens' rights.
The Mediterranean Forum for the promotion of citizens' rights.
They didn't seem to be present, so I recognize the Attic Kanawa New Council.
Hello, Chairperson.
I'm grateful for the floor today.
I'd like to draw your attention to the conclusions of a report relating to indigenous rights and discrimination in our territory carried out hand in hand with Amnesty International.
This situation directly concerns Article 21 of UI, recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples to sustainable improvement of their quality of life in the sphere of housing, health and well being without discrimination.
Our community and a number of other First Nations communities remain largely inaccessible.
Our families bear the brunt of the consequences of overcrowding, lack of appropriate housing, deterioration of housing quality, and growing nomadic life.
This compromises health, security, and education as well as the dignity of our members.
These result from chronic and systemic underfunding of our infrastructure and housing in indigenous communities, fueled by persistent forms of institutional discrimination.
And overlooking the fundamental needs of our community and the right to free determination.
We call on states to honor their commitments to indigenous peoples in order to share the building of finance programs hand in hand with indigenous peoples to meet their real needs and review funding mechanisms to ensure construction is met and persistent inequalities are overcome, as well as human rights implemented and investigation and reconciliation.
Studies are put in place.
Chair housing is a fundamental right.
This crisis doesn't only relate to dignified living, but also the will to address the structural inequalities underlying it.
Thank you.
The Chair, thank you very much.
I now recognize.
Hquean The Mapuche Association has the floor.
Then I recognize International Peace brigades.
Thank you very much, Chairperson.
In Guatemala, the vast majority of more than 200,000 people murdered, 1 million people displaced and approximately 45,000 disappeared during the domestic armed conflict belonged to the Maya Fina and Garfina peoples.
A number of courts have already confirmed that the state committed genocide.
Despite this, the agreement on the identity and rights of Indigenous peoples of 1995 continues 30 years later to be one of the least enforced.
Discrimination and exclusion targeting indigenous peoples continues in the economic, political and social spheres.
Structural inequality that gave rise to the conflict has not improved.
The state currently invests $0.4 a day per capita for indigenous peoples.
That's less than half of that invested for non indigenous peoples.
Poverty affects twice the number of indigenous people compared to non indigenous people.
The same for chronic malnutrition, exclusion is even worse in terms of political access and access to land.
We have seen very little progress.
In 2024, Guatemala registered the highest rate of murders per capita of those defending their land territory and natural heritage.
The majority of these are indigenous people, dozens confront criminalization and prison.
Under trumped up charges.
At the same time, we see evictions not complying with international standards as the Rapporteur on housing found in 2026.
These constitute cruel and inhuman treatment despite obligations under the agreement, experts at the UN and academics have confirmed that there are still legislative measures lacking to ensure that indigenous peoples have the proper restoration of their lands enforced.
We ask MRIP to foster compliance with the SEDs conclusions on land and territory and that they push forward with the recommendation of the Rapporteur on housing from 2025.
The chair interrupts.
Thank you very much for your statement.
I now recognize.
Mainly Network Go.
Thank you, Chair.
I thank the voluntary funds for Indigenous people to allow me to come here and represent my Omar relatives, as well the Cocama and Chicana relatives who are also engaged by Malibis Network and based in the Hi Salmons River in the Brazilian Amazon state bordering with Peru and Colombia.
We acknowledge the efforts of the Brazilian state to recognize indigenous people's rights.
Nevertheless, the Solemoys, Isa, Purete and Janjin Tuba rivers have lived for the last decades under the threat of drug traffic due to words cocaine consume, organized crime, armed river pirates, and illegal mining, Ginpo.
The toxic threats of legal mining as mercury leaves an even more complex problem due to the lack of urgent medical care in the region.
We ask this mechanism to conduct a study on the vulnerability of indigenous peoples in frontier regions, particularly in the out Soleimnes acknowledging reported disappearance of indigenous peoples, drug trafficking, illegal mining and limitations due to medical support.
We urge the support for effective action against illegal activities affecting indigenous rivers, health, and territories.
Their actions, these actions are only truly effective when guided by indigenous knowledge and leadership.
We call for support to indigenous led practices such as agro forestry, Malponic culture, story sharing, and other community based solutions, recognizing indigenous peoples as sovereign authorities over their own territories and the rightful leaders of any solution.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I recognize Native Woman Association.
Thank you, Chair.
We thank the panel for their discussions.
We offer three recommendations to the member states and seek support from the panel to bring them forward through your respective mandates.
First, in the current context of increasing anti rights rhetoric and growing geopolitical tensions, the liquidity crisis must not be used as an excuse to cut the mandates of the expert mechanisms, the permanent form, and the voluntary fund or the special pereur.
They each play a critical role in protecting and advancing indigenous rights.
Our rights are non negotiable and are now more than ever indigenous women's solutions, voices, and leaderships are needed.
These entities full mandates must be maintained to see UNDRIP fully implemented.
Secondly, indigenous women and our organizations must be included in the consultation and decision making processes.
Currently, we are being routinely excluded from the decision making process on issues impacting our lives and safety.
CETA, general Recommendation 39 must be implemented.
We continue to see member states rely on colonial governance structures at the expense of our rights.
The indigenous women have the right to participate in the decision making process, representatives of our choosing as we have traditional responsibilities and inherent rights.
Third, Anwar remains deeply concerned about the ongoing violence against indigenous women and girls.
Member states must ensure indigenous women's right to safety.
In Canada, the homicide rate for indigenous women has doubled in the last ten years.
As countries around the world continue to turn their attention to economic priorities and fast tracking resource development projects, the same urgency must be given to the link between these projects and the increase in violence.
Thank you very much for your statement.
I recognize Aw Nawa Foundation.
Joint statement with Indigenous Global Confederation.
Um, thank you.
I'm Ashuganawa the PhD researcher, bringing a collective statement on behalf of the Adivas National Coordination Front of India and the tribal collective at EN Emric.
I draw attention to the continued disposition of indigenous territories in India, despite constitutional guarantees under PESA FRA, and fifth and sixth Schedules, and Article 3 71 of the Indian Constitution, evidences points towards active development violence used by the Indian state to criminalize efforts by indigenous peoples to assert their identity, political autonomy, and rights to lands and resources.
Adiwasi communities defending, um, jungle, Jamin, water, forest land are branded as extremists and jailed on antinational charges.
256 were killed in Basta alone in 2025, a tenfold rise since a reward of killing policy began on July.
Also, on this el July and rights defender Pranaboe was arrested without a warrant in Assam e state of India for opposing a hotel project on indigenous, land near Kuchinga National Park.
Since May 2023, hundreds have been killed and 43,000 people remain displaced in the state of Mapore and 7311 people died in relief camps as per the state's own RTA disclosures.
The state's continued inaction in facilitating a meaningful solution is deepening intercommunal violence.
We urge the expert mechanism, the Special Report, and the treaty bodies to call on India to implement UN DRIP and its own constitutional protections, and the criminalization and illegal detention of the indigenous defenders and demilitarize the indigenous land and uphold Grams authority and free and fair and informed consent before approving projects and indigenous status.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Not in the room.
They are in the room.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
My apologies.
I didn't quite hear.
Never mind.
Madam Chair, I'm pref chair of the Society agar specialist in indigenous peoples.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the UDR, I want to share some thoughts.
The first generation of implementation of the Declaration enabled significant progress in recognition of rights.
The second generation should meet a broader challenge, that of ensuring they're effective in historical, political and cultural contexts that are profoundly different.
For many African countries, including Algeria, implementation should take into account the colonial history and the construction of sovereign states.
The rights of indigenous peoples and sovereigty of states do not stand against each other.
They're mutually reinforcing when the base of inclusive public policy.
The Algerian experience shows this.
The promotion of them and the constitutional recognition is based on scientific research, valuing the heritage and developing national cohesion.
Over the next 20 years, there will also be the challenge of AI, the need to preserve languages, is not enough.
Now there needs to be a digital repository of the language and scientific resources to ensure the full participation in the knowledge economy.
This anniversary calls on us to pursue decolonization of anthropologically colonial categories so that international policy should better reflect diversity of historical trajectories and historical experience.
The declaration should not just remain on paper, it should continue to inspire public policy able to reconcile memory, innovation, and justice and diversity for indigenous peoples of the 21st century.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You get the floor too.
Apologies for my pronunciation.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair for giving me this chance to participate here.
My name is Clayton Valentin, representative of the organization Aina of Panga in Peru.
Now, Peru as a state has supported the UDR However, implementation continues to be very limited, unequal, especially in the Amazon territories inhabited by the Asanin and Not Genga In the central jungle of Peru, particularly in the Varim zone, our peoples continue to face structural challenges to effectively exercise their rights.
Even though there is prior consultation, its implementation doesn't always guarantee compliance with international standards on Epic.
This situation is reflected in persistent conflicts related to land and natural resources as well as slow, incomplete processes for indigenous registration of land.
This heightens vulnerability of our peoples to extractive activities, invasions, and state decisions adopted without full effective participation.
So various infrastructure projects and other initiatives that directly impact our territories continue to take place without ensuring respect for our representative institutions or our right to participate in decisions that affect us.
That's why we call on MRIP to recommend to the Peruvian state to move forward from formal commitments to effective implementation of the UNDRIP.
Using mechanisms that guarantee full respect for our collective rights, including free determination, effective participation, and legal security for our lands.
The rights of indigenous peoples cannot stay on paper alone.
They must be made a reality through tangible action that guarantees justice, respect, and the full exercise of our rights.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I give the floor to Indigenous people.
Indigenous people.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
My name is Tongu Azil Nasir No, representing the Indian people of Ache Sumatra.
I came before distinguished meeting in good faith and with respect.
When I return, I hope to Ache, I hope that we will not face intimidation or repressal for peacefully engaging with United Nations.
Today, our people continue to face serious restriction on our ability to organize, catering and advocate for our collective right in Ache.
When in this community assemble peacefully to defend our Indonesian, security force often deployed to disperse our gathering and some cases members of our community have been subject to physical failing without justification.
At the same time, our resources are being exploited like in But Magala and in the place to expanding activity that returned our land and environment.
We raise this concern day, labeled us as provocator instead of being held as indigenous people defending over it.
Therefore, we respectfully call to restrain their cooperation with the Indig people of Aksumatra.
We call to closely to monitor our situation in Gateway community and ensure that are protected according to law.
We hope that the of the United Nations Inigreat mechanism for 2026 and 2027 will include meaningful in people of Hach Sumatra and provide a stronger support so we can exercise our freely, safely and without fear.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
The floor to European.
Thank you very much.
On behalf of the International Network of Human Rights Europe, we state a profound concern at the grave situation facing indigenous peoples and people of African descent in Nicaragua who've been victims of a systematic process of internal colonization violating their right to self determination and a grave forced displacement of entire communities.
Constitutional illegal reforms adopted in 2025, including have weakened the government of local indigenous communities, subordinating them to the central power and eliminating fundamental guarantees such as the right to epic For decisions affecting their territories.
That normative regression has facilitated the expansion of extraction.
In 2025, mining concessions were given to 12 Chinese companies incorporating 6.7 additional Surface area of territory added to the 25% of the territory and has been given out in concessions.
These decisions have been adopted without effective participation of indigenous peoples.
The territorial despoilment is carried out through violence.
We've at least 77 violent attacks against mesquita and Magna communities perpetrated by armed settlers acting with impunity and provoking forced displacement, destruction of communities, and loss of traditional means of livelihood.
Indigenous women face disproportionate impact, sexual violence, enforced displayment and the burden of maintaining the family have been direct consequences of this conflict, while they try and continue to protect their land and identity in the face of reprisals and violence.
We note with concern The systemic persecution against indigenous authorities, we urge the mechanism to carry out a thematic study on the impact of extractive activities, especially mining on the rights of indigenous peoples.
This study should analyze comprehensively the consequences of such projects on the rights of indigenous peoples and their territories.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I get the floor to Indigenous World Association.
Go, I am an OHCHR indigenous fellow from the Ganyakhga Nation, and I present this joint statement.
Today, we bring to your attention the plastic pollution crisis, a serious and growing threat to indigenous peoples worldwide.
Every stage of the plastic life cycle is exposing indigenous peoples to harmful chemicals from fossil fuel extraction, transportation, and refining industries affecting indigenous territories in Canada and Nigeria to plastic waste and microplastics in the Pacific Ocean and in the snow and ice of the Arctic.
UNEP and the two previous special repertoires on toxics and human rights have identified the environmental injustices and disproportionate burdens borne by indigenous peoples to toxics.
We are breathing plastics in our air and consuming microplastics and all their associated chemicals in our foods and water, contaminating our sacred sites, the wombs of our mothers, and our newborn babies.
This environmental violence violates many UNDRIP articles, including, among others, Article 22, requiring states to take measures to ensure that indigenous women and children are free from all forms of violence.
Article 13 requiring states to ensure our ability to transmit our culture to future generations, and Article 29 requiring states to ensure no hazardous materials are disposed on our lands.
We raised the alarm here at MRIP that faltering multilateralism and dangerously low ambition are permeating global environmental mechanisms and negotiations, leaving indigenous peoples out of the decision making processes and posing serious risks.
With the Global plastics Ty potentially concluding in early 2027, we call upon MRIP to draft an urgent letter to the intergovernmental negotiating committee on plastic pollution, urging them to ensure the future treaty is ambitious, addresses the full lifecycle of plastic and upholds the rights and full and effective participation of indigenous peoples.
I thank you, Chair.
Thank you very much for that statement.
I give the floor to I give the floor to Pablo I give the floor to miss Takuga Madam President Madam Chair, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, experts, I speak on behalf as a grantee for 2026 of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples and on behalf of the organizations I represent.
12th of July 2026, we commemorated the 60th anniversary of the start of nuclear testing by France in our territory.
The French state carried out 180 air nuclear and subground tests in Fatofa.
The radioactive repercussions affected tens of thousands of people and continues to have grave repercussions for health and the environment of my people.
All that pollution has led to transnational illnesses that are still being identified in 2026 despite the law of January 20 2010 Moran law, which called for treatment being given to the sufferers and families.
Numerous victims have said that the procedure is too difficult to access, too lengthy.
It's called into question the fundamental rights of the UN Declaration, the rights of indigenous peoples.
We call on the French state to respect its law and to take reparation measures, sanitary and environmental rehabilitation and preservation of memory as described in Articles 811 to 28, 29 and 31 to guarantee transparency by progressively declassifying documents, to respect the memory of nuclear testing, including in school curricula proper teaching of our history, recognize the truth of those tests and to present official apologies to Maohii people for the devastating consequences that we continue to suffer today.
We also urge the EmirP to continue following the consequences in the long term of nuclear activities by France on indigenous peoples, to promote effective implementation of the rights enshrined in the Declaration and to encourage France to continue its efforts on nuclear issues.
Thank you.
Thank you Congress Congress.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm speaking on behalf of the Uyghur people.
The recently enacted ethnic unity and the progress law adopted by People's Republic of China, which entered into force on July 1st, 2026.
Representatives are dangerous escalated of the Chinese as Malaysian policy towards Ugur Tibetan and the other non Han peoples.
Presented as a law promoting unity.
It instituzation the forced construction of single national identity.
It provides a legal framework to further marginalize other ethnic language, race, cultural and religious identity, and the strength state control over education, public life, and inter generational transmission of the culture.
For Ugur people, This law does not exist in isolation.
It follows, mass arbitrary detention, family separation, burden school, destruction, cultural and religious heritage, restriction on the Uyghur language, and the displacement of the community from their essential lands.
This registration therefore risks legitimism and expanding policies that are fundamental incompatible with the principle of the UN Declaration, including the to maintain distinct cultural institution, preserve language, practice religion, and participated freely and cultural life without force assimilation.
We encourage the expert mechanism to examine the implication of implementation of the law for non Chinese people to engage with the government of China on its compatibility with international human rights standards.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for that statement.
I give the floor to Indigenous man number people at the North, Civilia and the far east of the Russian Federation.
Madam Chair, this is a joint statement of collective associations of 40 indigenous peoples.
I want to stress once more the impact of the rights of indigenous peoples of unilateral coercive measures.
They are of a unilateral nature and were not brought in by the UN as sanctions.
Their impact directly affects the lives of indigenous peoples, restricts access to specialized equipment that's necessary for conducting a traditional way of life in Arctic and remote areas.
Or impacts medical equipment, IT equipment, and other vitally important resources.
In addition, there's visa restrictions complicate the participation of indigenous peoples in the work of UN mechanisms and also restrict development of international and trans border cooperation, including cooperation between kindred indigenous peoples of the Arctic.
This is a direct violation of Article 39 of the Declaration, which provides for access of indigenous peoples to financial and technical assistance from the international community.
We believe it's vital for these facts to be reflected in studies and recommendations by UN mechanisms, including in current and future studies by the mechanism.
We call on the luntary fund to take into account objective barriers facing indigenous organizations when participating in the work of UN mechanisms and devote particular attention to supporting legitimate representative institutions that reflect the collective position of indigenous peoples.
I thank you.
Thank you very much for that.
I give the floor to New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I speak on behalf of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, and we welcome and we look forward to welcoming the special rapporteur, doctor Brohm to Australia in November this year.
Most welcome.
We therefore encourage the expert mechanisism to continue strengthening its work on the implementation and accountability in relation to the UNDRIP to consider how the United Nations system can do better to support indigenous peoples where states endorse indigenous standards but fail to implement them domestically, to encourage states to incorporate the standards contained in the Declaration into domestic law, policy, and decision making.
Madam Chair, we approach the ten 20th anniversary of the Declaration.
We are reminded that the central challenge before us is no longer one of recognition, it is of implementation.
In Australia, despite endorsing the declaration in 2009, its standards have been incorporated and has never been incorporated into domestic law and continue to be treated largely as guiding principles rather than enforceable standards.
The implementation gap between international commitments and domestic realities remain significant.
Australia's fourth URP provides a clear example of the implementation gap, despite receiving more than 330 recommendations from member states, Australia accepted only a minority of those recommendations.
This demonstrates that international endorsement of indigenous rights does not necessarily translate into domestic law.
At this time when we are witnessing increasing pressure on indigenous rights globally, the rise of the right wing and populist movements, growing challenges of the human rights institution, materialism and the role of the United Nations mechanism is more important than ever.
Always was always will be Abu lane.
Thank you very much for that statement.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I am Jenny Philbrick from the Toco Nation.
The Tilcoe Nation, thanks to three complimentary indigenous mechanisms for your support of our efforts to advance our jurisdiction over the things that are essential to our survival as indigenous peoples.
This includes our jurisdiction over children and family services, grounded in Sokotan law, values, and tradition.
This jurisdiction is consistent with the UN Declaration, which recognizes the right of indigenous families and communities to retain shared responsibility for the upbringing, training, education, and well being of their children, consistent with the right of the child and consistent with our right to self determination.
As Socotin, our children are the most important resource.
As a nation, we are proud to have worked with our women's council, frontline workers, youth, elders, and leadership to reclaim our jurisdiction in this space.
Last year, the Socotin Nation enacted our children and families law, which is called Sotin escasos Sosa Gena, which translates to Socoten children growing up in a good way.
As the foundation of our new model of care.
The ERP studies on the right of indigenous child, sorry, indigenous child and on the right to health with focus on children and youth have been particularly useful in our jurisdictional efforts.
We encourage you to build on this critically important work and we look forward to sharing the best practices from our children and family law, which truly represents implementation of the UN Declaration.
SchannelYa Good Would you Thank you.
I give the floor to Kimberley, Original Woman Council.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I represent First Nation woman from the Kimberly Region of Australia, nearly 20 years after the UN Declaration on the Rights of indigenous peoples.
Its promise is only partially fulfilled here.
While it has supported our rights and community organizations, it remains unimplemented in law and practice.
Many indigenous women and girls still lack access to the rights in the Declaration.
Article 3 and four affirm self determination, self government.
Article 22 calls for protection from violence and discrimination.
Yet, Aboriginal women face high rates of violence, child removal, poor health, and justice barriers in the Kimberly.
These rates are amongst the highest in Australia.
Implementing the Declaration is crucial for our safety, justice, and survival.
Implementation should be judged by the safety, empowerment, cultural connection, decision making, power of indigenous women and girls, not just strategies or plans.
Our indigenous women have shown what effective implementation looks like through our ways, strong ways, our voices, a community led framework based on self determination and lived experience.
The challenge now is ensuring indigenous women are trusted, resourced, and empowered to lead.
In the next decade, states must invest in indigenous led organizations, uphold free prior and informed consent, and recognize indigenous women as leaders and equal partners in community decisions.
Chair, the Declaration success will be measured by whether indigenous women and girls can live the right affirms.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Before moving to closing remarks from our distinguished experts, we'll have two more interventions.
First of all, A territorial government.
Good afternoon.
Madam Chair.
I does my honor take the floor on behalf of the territorial government autonomous of the province of Colin in the Peruvian Amazon.
We're grateful to the Permanent forum on Indigenous issues, the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous peoples, the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous people as well as the treaty bodies for the unstinting commitment to our rights.
However, despite progress in international law, The gap between norms and their implementation remains considerable.
In many countries, including in Peru, indigenous peoples continue to suffer exploitation of their land, criminalization of their leaders and activists, as well as insufficient participation in decisions that affect them.
We call for enhanced cooperation between the different mechanisms at the UN to ensure more consistent, more effective follow up to the recommendations addressed to states.
We also call for the voluntary fund to be given sufficient resources to enable broader participation of indigenous peoples, especially youth, women, and representative institutions of the most remote territories who have very little access as the 20th anniversary of the UNDRIP approaches, We urge the United Nations to move beyond just celebrations by creating a standing cultural space or by organizing regularly cultural manifestations within the organization.
Thank you very much for your participation.
One final speaker before we go back to the experts, Geneva for Human Rights.
I'm from the Venezuelan arms and part of the grantee program 2026, representing the Bolivar representing Article 3 of the Declaration recognizes our right to self determination is losing its effectiveness when states like Venezuela don't recognize it in their constitution but continue to take decisions on our territories without guaranteeing effective implementation.
Recent reform to the organic law on mining on hydrocarbons and the new legal framework that was adopted by the interests of the mining companies that was meant to create epic processes in line with international standards, but it shows that constitutional recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples doesn't guarantee alone its effective implementation.
Epic is not an administrative proceeding, but an expression of free determination when laws or policies affecting indigenous peoples are approved without our participation, that becomes null and void.
Therefore, we recommend that the mechanism doesn't just stop at noting gaps in implementation of Article 3, rather it should fully exercise its mandate of specialized advice to guide states when constitutional reforms could compromise the exercise of free determination of epic.
The recent legislative reforms adopted by Venezuela show that the need to exercise this mandate with great firmness, no state can invoke constitutional recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples while it continues, on the other hand, to adopt laws that affect our territories without guaranteeing effective exercise of free determination.
Thank you.
Thank you.
With that, this brings to an end the list of speakers and we'll now give the floor back to our distinguished panelists.
Doctor Albert Rmi Special Rapporteur.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I will make three concluding remarks.
The first one is, as my office has been noting and as you could hear from indigenous people themselves, indigenous people are today under siege.
If I can call it that way.
They are in what I'm calling with my team, a human right crisis.
They are highly criminalized.
They are called enemy of state terrorist threat to national security and national interests.
Their land across different regions are occupied by terrorist groups, armed groups, drug traffickers, migrant, and illegal minors.
It's crisis as seen before.
I think I was really glad that indigenous people could illustrate with details how they are going through a crisis.
I call on states and the UN to take into account that particular vulnerability and situation indigenous people are in.
My second point, I did say and it's for that reason that I decided to dedicate my report on indigenous women reproductive rights because Those right were and continue to be a special target of many actors who are after indigenous people's land and their cultural integrity as nations.
They are, in many countries continuing colonial policies, pollution, and environmental contamination causing incredible damage to those indigenous women, reproductive rights, militarization and creation of military base across the regions with indigenous girl and women rapped almost on daily basis, and in some cases, negative cultural practices and beliefs, putting indigenous people in particularly women in Ka and the extractive industry, as well as conservation policy with cases of protected area guards sexually assaulting indigenous women.
That is a global picture across the region.
I was pleased to hear indigenous people themselves expressing that.
Let me conclude this with some positive note and I want to welcome the Indonesian government recent a revocation of a logging license given to TPL Company is a company that special procedures have highlighted as harming indigenous people.
We are calling as special procedures special rapporteur on indigenous people, specifically to call upon Indigenous government to give back the land to indigenous people instead of giving it again to another logging company.
Madam Chair, let me reiterate this again, last point.
Indigenous people, the last 20 years of the declaration has proved that the protection of indigenous people's rights are not a threat to states.
On the contrary, they have built states, they have improved inclusive governance across different regions.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much.
I would now like to pass the floor to Alki, representative of the permanent firm of the United Nations for final comments.
Chair, and I want to thank everyone who's contributed to this dialogue this afternoon.
It is quite clear to me that indigenous peoples are involved in so many aspects of work across the United Nations systems, whether it's in climate change or plastics or language.
I will say I took note of the comments made about including the word peoples when we're talking about indigenous people's languages.
So I really look forward to the discussion and the interventions that will be shared on Thursday when there's a focus on the International decade of Indigenous languages.
Um I took note also with the involvement of indigenous peoples in so many areas that there's specialized knowledge and lived experience that indigenous peoples are in a position to offer.
In particular, I heard the very strong presence and advocacy for the full and effective involvement of indigenous women and I will also say that I took note of the number of people who are here because they've been supported by the voluntary fund.
And I think each time I heard it, it just was a testament to why it's so important that these mechanisms are supported to ensure that indigenous peoples are able to participate in these discussions.
Um I wanted to talk, I guess, recognize that I heard repeatedly the importance of the mechanisms to keep intact.
I think I will build upon the special perors commentary about the crisis.
I heard that loud and clear that there's a great concern um, about the intimidation, the violence, reprisals.
And there was also a suggestion, and I really appreciated some of the really concrete suggestions, but I really appreciate the suggestion that with the three mechanisms, it's important to be coordinated, but there's also a need to be swift and timely in terms of protection.
And I think there were also some very concrete suggestions that many of us heard and could probably respond to in quick order, for example, including having resolutions on what things can be supported through the voluntary fund.
I also wanted to end with something more positive, but I will say that I really heard the shift as we're preparing for marking the 20th anniversary of UNDRIP, that we're no longer working towards recognition of indigenous people's rights, but what we need to focus on and be very proactive about is the implementation.
We know so many of us continue to work on making sure as indigenous peoples our rights are upheld and implementation to do that is key.
Um, I heard some positive things because indigenous peoples are very strength based, and I think it's really important.
Sometimes, it's easy to get into the place where we're looking at deficiencies and things that we need to continue to work on.
But I want to take a moment to remind us and I heard it throughout this room that we can take a very strength based approach and celebrate all the ways in which indigenous peoples can contribute in a positive way.
And in fact, indigenous peoples are keen and want to build peace.
They want to celebrate life.
I think I will end with looking forward and the comment that was made that children are our most important resource because, of course, we want to make sure our children have a better future than we currently have.
I heard a little child earlier and I thought, Wow, what a great reminder about why we do the work we do.
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you so much for your concluding words.
I'd now like to pass the floor to Sister Magen Etienne, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for her concluding words.
You have the floor.
Thank you very much, Chairperson.
Thank you, everybody for what you have said and thank you for your recommendations concerning the voluntary Fund for Indigenous peoples.
They have been heard and they will be carefully examined.
We are equally concerned by the question of security and safety affecting indigenous women and children and indeed men as well.
Housing issues are very much an issue which is at the heart of our concerns and we must look more at this.
We must get that message to places where it can be heard.
The question of territorial and land ownership, ancestral lands, and environmental protection.
Is obviously key, just to name a few.
These are critical because obviously the UNDRIP must be properly implemented and effective implementation remains in many cases, something that still needs to be achieved in the future.
As I was saying beforehand, this is the last time I will speak to you from this podium in this role.
I'd like to take the opportunity to underscore my hope that all of your recommendations are taken into account and above all, implemented.
I'd like to also express my gratitude to the expert mechanism and the permanent forum, as well as the Special Rapporteur.
I'd like to thank him for being present here with us.
We must undertake a collective task to bring about these goals.
Of course, above all, we need you.
It is you that give us your insights into what you are experiencing on the ground.
I'd like to on behalf of the voluntary Fund, thank you and undertake the responsibility of implementing the recommendations you've given us today.
Thank you to all my colleagues.
The Chair, thank you very much.
I'd now like to pass the floor to our brother Sal Vicente Vasquez, member of the CRD.
Thank you very much, Sister Chairperson, brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm very grateful for the opportunity given to me to represent CERT as the focal point for collaboration between CERT and the United Nations mechanisms on the rights of indigenous peoples.
Today, I have listened very closely to the work being carried out by the UN mechanisms complying with their mandates as they work on implementing the rights of indigenous peoples.
They are a particular relevance, I believe.
I've also heard the commitments that states have made towards implementing the UNDRIP and the other additional activities they have undertaken.
Notwithstanding, I've also heard The sisters and brothers who are here with us representing the various indigenous peoples in the room.
Those statements don't speak very highly of the implementation of the requests that we make on early warning and urgent actions in cert.
I want to say that 80% of the requests for these actions that we receive come from indigenous peoples and their organizations.
Because of this, I'd like to urge indigenous peoples to participate with CAD in its forthcoming session, the committee will be reviewing the reports of Finland, India, Honduras, and Kuwait.
As a result, I'd like to urge Indigenous people's Organizations and those representing them to present parallel reports to us, to provide us with additional elements to allow us to weigh in a more balanced fashion the country reports submitted to us.
And we have a deadline.
That's the 20th of July in five days.
I'd like to really urge you to redouble your cooperation with the committee through those parallel reports which are hugely valuable to us.
Thank you very much once again for this opportunity and I hope to continue to collaborate with you in the forthcoming sessions.
Thank you very much.
Would you see my glass.
Thank you very much.
We'll now pass the floor to my colleagues, the other experts, and the floor is open.
Shelley Lightfoot has the fourth floor.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Let me extend my sincerest appreciation to all of the other mechanisms for the updates today on your work and priorities, as well as in our closed meeting yesterday.
These joint meetings are incredibly valuable.
Together, our three mechanisms, alongside the treaty bodies and the voluntary fund, and of course, indigenous peoples themselves form what I would describe as an indigenous rights knowledge ecosystem.
Distinct mandates but interdependent, each strengthening the work of the others.
Meetings like the one today and yesterday help keep that ecosystem very healthy and ensuring complementarity rather than overlap.
That ecosystem now faces real and palpable pressures.
It's absolutely obvious from the floor today is that all of these functions remain desperately needed.
It seems the world needs human rights mechanisms more than ever now, so we need to strengthen our efforts, not roll them back.
To the Special Rapporteur at ERP sessions and throughout the year, we hear from indigenous peoples worldwide, and sometimes we are asked to address specific violations which are better suited to your mandate, and we are happy to send them to you.
That your work you do ensures that those concerns have a distinct home within the ecosystem, and we value your work there tremendously.
And to the chair of the Permanent Forum, thank you for your tremendous work during the 25th session, and we look forward with great interest to the coming work in this next year.
Voluntary fund, the fund is the circulatory system of this ecosystem, enabling participation and critically training that builds indigenous people's ability to engage in all of these mechanisms effectively.
We encourage member states to continue to contribute at the same level so that this can continue to the honored representative from the SRD, congratulations on your appointment.
It is incredibly significant as we desperately need to increase awareness of indigenous rights in the treaty bodies.
There's been some progress to date, but much work yet to do.
We appreciate very much your presence there and thank you for joining our dialogue.
Engaging with the treaty bodies like this is, in my view, among the most important dimensions of our work on the UmRIP.
We're grateful for today's engagement and hope it will continue on an ongoing basis.
All of these conversations will converge in the year ahead as we move towards the 20th anniversary of the Declaration.
That milestone belongs to the entire ecosystem, and we will work with it in a coordinated and collaborative way.
Let's use this coming year to arrive at that anniversary in a mutually reinforcing manner and in celebrating together as one and looking forward to a future together.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much, Cheryl.
I'd like to also take the opportunity to thank you In view of the fact that this also is your last session here with the expert mechanism and the last time that I will be taking the podium, I'd like to take the opportunity to recognize all of the work and the commitment that you've dedicated to the mandates over the last six years, four years working alongside me, that these have been fundamental for the strengthening of the mandate of the mechanism, but above all, for bolstering the rights of indigenous peoples, which we're also committed to.
Thank you very much for your work.
The floor is open again, so I'll pass the floor to Gam Shia.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would also like to thank the other three mechanisms for the perseverance and achievements made in spite of the challenges that we faced.
I would also like to offer a few remarks reflecting from the interventions from the floor since day one regarding indigenous peoples who are currently in conflict areas, for example, in Manu, India, and other countries.
It is important for the indigenous mechanisms in cooperation with other relevant UN mechanisms to urgently consider in addressing the following.
Firstly, for states to ensure that all measures taken in response to the conflict are guided by clearly defined, publicly communicated and rights based objectives.
States should maintain strict political neutrality in the implementation of security and humanitarian measures, ensuring that all communities are treated equally and without discrimination.
Mandates, rules of engagement, and accountability mechanisms governing security forces should be clearly established, publicly communicated where appropriate and consistent with international human rights standards.
Independent oversight, transparent reporting, and accessible complaint mechanism should be strengthened to foster public trust and prevent abuses.
Second, that decisions affecting conflict affected communities should be based on objective criteria, subject to independent oversight and developed in consultation with representatives, all affected communities, including indigenous peoples to strengthen confidence in the impartiality of state institutions.
Thirdly, That state institutions should ensure that security forces operate under a unified and impartial chain of command.
We clearly define mandates focused on the protection of civilians, prevention of intercommunal violence, and equal enforcement of the law while refraining from actions that could create actual or perceived bias towards any community so that we prevent further losses of life and peace building efforts move forward.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much for those words.
I'd like to put my glasses on, first and foremost, thank you very much for that very important work you've been outlining.
We congratulate you for all of the work, drafting the reports and all of the valuable recommendations and contributions to strengthen the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples.
We hope that the recommendations that have arisen from your work and that of the states will be able to be manifested.
Before adjourning the session, I'd like to express my sincere heartfelt thanks to all participants for their valuable contributions, for their statements, for the respectful dialogue, and for the commitment they have shown to the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples.
Your contributions have enriched our work and have strengthened this space of cooperation and reflection.
I would also like to invite us to dedicate a moment of memory to the men and women who have led indigenous peoples and dedicated their lives to the protection of indigenous peoples, to the territories, to their culture, to the right of free determination.
Their legacy inspires us and reminds us that the defense of human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples requires courage and commitment.
Let me invite you to stand and observe a minute of silence, above all, recalling the memory of Ta Gurle, the mosquito historic leader.
Would you say my Gs.
Thank you very much.
Let that minute of silence renew our commitment to continue to work to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples be fully respected and protected the world over.
In that spirit, I would like to formally declare adjourned this session.
I wish you a very good evening.
Thank you very much.
Okay.