9th Meeting, 19th Session Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP)

Good morning.
Ma, everyone.
We have just spent time in serious deliberations over the proposals that have been submitted to us with respect to our recommendations to the Human Rights Council.
Let me turn to the matter of the adoption of the study and the proposals.
During the 19th session, the expect mechanism adopted the study and advice on the rights of indigenous peoples in conflict and post conflict situations under the Human Rights Council resolution 33 slash 25 P two sub A.
I will now read the proposals to the council.
There are a total of 12 The first proposal is on the Human Rights Council panel discussion.
In accordance with the decision adopted at its 19th session, the mechanism proposals at the Human Rights Council convene a panel discussion during its 64th session to be held in September 2027 on taking stock of the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, celebrating key achievements and addressing emerging challenges.
The panel would provide an opportunity to reflect the important role played by the expert mechanism in advancing the implementation of the declaration over the past two decades and to identify means of strengthening and enhancing its future work.
During its 19th session, the E mechanism decided that its next annual study would focus on business and the human rights of indigenous peoples.
The study will be complemented by an expert seminar organized by the expert mechanism with the participation of academic institutions and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to be held in late 2026 and informed and enriched by input from rights holders and stakeholders solicited through an open call for inputs.
The second proposal will be on the implementation of ERPs mandate in the context of the current liquidity and financial crisis.
The third proposal will be on the protection of indigenous leaders, indigenous human rights defenders, and mandate holders, including from reprisals.
The fourth proposal will be on the rights of indigenous peoples in conflict and post conflict situations.
In that proposal, the expect mechanism calls upon the Human Rights Council to encourage states to engage with the advice to the study on the rights of indigenous peoples in conflict and post conflict situations.
The fifth proposal will be on indigenous peoples and voluntary isolation and initial contact.
The sixth proposal will be on the topic of artificial intelligence.
The seventh proposal will be on the International Decade of Indigenous languages.
The eighth proposal will be on the rights of indigenous peoples and non self governing territories.
Proposal nine will be on indigenous peoples and other terms and groups.
Within that proposal, we'll be recalling the previous proposal to the Human Rights Council on the topic.
The expect mechanism will note that the term indigenous peoples is increasingly being conflated with the United Nations documents with the vague term, local communities.
Despite distinct rights, histories and cultures of indigenous peoples whose collective and individual human rights and equality with all other peoples are affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
E mechanism will encourage and urge the Council to avoid conflating these terms and will call upon states to adopt distinctions based policies in that respect and recognize and uphold the unique rights of indigenous peoples at every level.
The tenth proposal will speak to the implementation on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples.
Proposal 11 will address participation of indigenous peoples in the Human Rights Council.
Finally, the 12th proposal will be on increased engagement of member states with the expert mechanism.
I would now like to ask my colleagues and members if they would like to comment on any of these proposals or studies going forward.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I understand that you're giving the floor to us as well for our concluding remarks, but I would like distinguished colleagues, distinguished representatives of indigenous peoples and states, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to congratulate us all on the end of this session of the MRP.
I would like to thank the colleagues and the Secretariat for their cooperation and for the joint work we've done together.
Specific gratitude to the colleague doctor Sherif Lafu who was the essential for this session.
We're very grateful, Cheryl Lightfoot that is, we're very grateful for the work that was done together.
An important part of the work of this session was dedicated to the preparation of the tentthniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
This declaration is essential for the rights of Indigenous peoples and our research and reports to the Human Rights Council and our cooperation and coordination with other mechanisms.
Over the last two decades, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has become a reference point for the development of national policies and legislation and international processes.
At the same time, recognizing the rights is not enough.
Achieving the goals of the Declaration depends on the quality of national institutions and the effective mechanisms for participation by indigenous peoples in decision making and international cooperation.
It is important to underscore that the nature of the declaration itself does not allow for a one size fits all approach.
Different national and other approaches can help us achieve the goals so as to ensure the effective implementation of the rights of indigenous peoples and take into account their own specific priorities.
As we prepare the 20th anniversary, we must also build on what has been done in terms of agreements within the United Nations.
Provisions of the Declaration are directly linked to biodiversity, climate, sustainable development, languages, cultural heritage, and new technologies.
More consistent taking into account of the rights of indigenous peoples in these processes would also help us achieve the goals of the Declaration.
The panel discussions on artificial intelligence was the logical continuation of our previous research done on the rights of indigenous peoples and data.
We see significant demand for continuing the discussion and study of this issue.
Artificial intelligence is developing very fast and we need effective measures to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples when developing and using artificial intelligence, including in terms of shaping practical recommendations on the use of AI for the purpose of preserving languages and the traditional knowledge and cultures of indigenous peoples, including matters relating to data management and their participation or partation of religious peoples in the development of technology.
Today we are providing a significant package of measures to the Human Rights Council, and there is work that remains to be done for the preparation of the 20th anniversary, including looking at the main achievements and emerging challenges.
During the intersessional period, we will continue to work in order to achieve achieve significant progress in terms of country cooperation, which is also part of our mandate.
We think it's important to ensure that this format of the expert mechanisms work is duly implemented in all socio cultural regions.
Also, by way of conclusion, regardless of the huge importance of international cooperation, it is the national and local levels where the provisions of the Declaration take on all their practical meaning and content, thanks to daily work by the indigenous peoples themselves and their representative organizations.
Of particular importance here is building the capacities and the expertise and constructive dialogue for promoting the individual priorities of indigenous peoples.
I do hope very much that during our last session of the expert mechanism, we have contributed to that.
I would like to express my gratitude once again and I look forward to fruitful cooperation during the intersectional period.
Thank you.
I thank my expert colleague Antonina Gbanova for her comments.
Are there any other members that would like to offer any comments on the proposals or any remarks relating to the session? Please.
Anika.
Thank you very much indeed.
Generally speaking, I believe that the proposals are a solid and balanced ones which reflect the development of the mandate of the MRIP and the current challenges that indigenous peoples face in all regions of the world.
We appreciate the fact that the proposal strengthened the implementation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which promote better cooperation between states and the expert mechanism and strengthen the effective participation of indigenous peoples in the United Nations processes.
Also, we welcome the fact that these recommendations incorporate emerging and priority issues such as artificial intelligence, the protection of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact, the protection of human rights defenders who are indigenous and indigenous leaders, the revitalization of indigenous languages, and the strengthening of the capacities of the mechanisms to comply with the mandate to comply fully with the mandate.
Similarly, the recommendations provide a robust basis and pave the way for the next United Nations resolution of the Human Rights Council.
We hope that dialogue with states, in particular Mexico and Guatemala will also further strengthen the text through a sense of spirit of cooperation and consensus in the full implementation of the development of the rights of indigenous peoples.
Thank you very much.
I thank my colleague Anika Cunningham for your comments.
Are there any other members that would like to take the floor with respect to proposals or remarks of the session, please? Cheryl.
Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to acknowledge your leadership this session and the contributions of my colleagues as we worked on these proposals and particularly appreciate the work of Mexico and Guatemala in taking these forward in the September session of the council.
As we know, my term as North America member ends in April 2027.
As this is my final session annual session as a member of the expert Mechanism, I have found myself thinking about time.
Any one of us who's raised young children knows a particular truth.
The hours are long, but the years are short.
Okay.
Service in this mechanism has been very much like that.
There are long nights, sometimes meetings in the middle of the night, drafting can stretch on, Sessions are full, calendars are full, and at the end of each day, the work is never finished.
Yet, six years pass in what feels like a single breath.
When the work matters, time does not walk, it runs.
Before it runs out, I want to close with a reflection on a gift.
The declaration we have spent this year discussing, whose 20th anniversary we will mark next year, did not arrive in this hall by accident.
It was carried here over more than two decades of negotiation and more than a century of persistence by our elders.
That persistence began just over 100 years ago when Desgahe from the Hodsho Confederacy, Chief Descaha traveled to Geneva seeking to address the League of Nations on behalf of his people.
The doors of the league were closed to him, as we all know.
He died two years later far from home without an answer.
But the question he carried did not die with him.
In the 70s and 80s, our elders came back through the door he had knocked upon to the 77 conference held in Geneva, and then to the working group where the first words of the Declaration were set down.
They drafted through night after night translated concepts across legal traditions that had ever spoken to one another and they held firm on self determination when they were told it was impossible.
Some of them are still with us and some are still able to take the floor this week.
I want to honor them, and I want to honor the many, many who are no longer with us.
We honor their memory.
What those elders gave us is a precious gift.
The most comprehensive articulation of indigenous people's rights the international system has ever produced.
But like all precious gifts, it comes with a set of responsibilities.
Our elders did the extraordinary work of creating the Declaration.
Ours is the harder, slower, strenuous, and often less visible work of making it real.
In legislation, in courtrooms, classrooms, negotiations, in the daily lives of indigenous children who deserve to grow up inside its promise rather than waiting years and years for it.
That is the measure I've tried to hold myself to in this seat.
It's the measure against which the anniversary year will assess us all.
The gap between endorsement and implementation is not closing on its own.
We have the responsibility to do that work.
I need to express many words of gratitude to the Secretariat.
Your support of this mechanism has been simply extraordinary.
Tireless, meticulous, generous, far beyond what the mandate requires.
Very little of what this body accomplishes would be possible without you and far too little of it is ever credited to you.
My deepest thanks.
To the interpreters, you are magic, and you make a mechanism of seven regions possible.
To the states, You engage so constructively with us in these sessions and particularly, I want to acknowledge those states who have extended invitations under our country engagement mandate and welcomed us so generously.
You embody the spirit in which this mechanism was created, advice sought and offered in good faith and the shared pursuit of the declarations implementation.
That partnership has been among the most rewarding dimensions of my service, and I hope many more states will take up that opportunity in the years ahead.
To my fellow Emit members, present and past, my thanks for the work we have carried together, and I want to extend to you my best wishes for you in the years of work ahead.
And to the indigenous delegations who returned to Geneva year after year, often at great cost and sacrifice.
You are the reason this mechanism exists, and you have been my teachers.
I look forward to working alongside my colleagues during the intercessional period until April and I look forward to warmly welcoming the new member from North America who will be selected next year.
I leave this seat with immense gratitude to those who asked me to take it.
With faith in that precious gift our elders placed in our hands and with the certainty that I'm not leaving this work only this chair.
Indeed, I'll be back next year for the anniversary, seated in a different chair, in a different part of the room, but continuing this work from that standpoint, as I was doing before the role and as so many before me have done, that responsibility travels with all of us.
I send you a Mig.
Thank you, my colleagues.
It's been such an honor.
I I now would like to present the future work of the expect mechanism, including the focus of our next annual study.
In the proposals, you'll note that we decided that our next annual study on the status of the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide and the achievement of the ends of the Declaration mandated by resolution 33 slash 25 para two sub A with a focus on business and the human rights of indigenous peoples.
In addition, mandated by resolution 33 slash 25 para to sub B to identify, disseminate, and promote good practices and lessons learned regarding the efforts to achieve the ends of the Declaration.
The mechanism has decided to prepare a report on taking stock of the 20th anniversary of the Declaration, celebrating key achievements and addressing emerging challenges.
We will open a new call for contributions in the fall for both the study and the report and we encourage every one of you to submit your input.
Your involvement is of the utmost importance to enrich the study both with information and also with perspectives.
The study and report will be presented to the council at its 66th session in September 2027.
Further, the Mechanisms annual report 2026 will be completed following the conclusion of the session presented at the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council.
I would like to thank all participants, particularly the states that have reaffirmed their commitment here this week to implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a special thanks to my indigenous brothers and sisters from all regions, and Ahi Aoha to my Pacific Alto de Alfaro for bringing your voices, emotions, and sometimes even your tears.
We receive them with utmost seriousness and as encouragement for our ongoing work.
As much as we would have liked to accommodate each one of you to make your oral interventions, we apologize for not being able to do so due to time constraints.
However, we assure you that all the statements submitted to the Secretariat, including those from participants who have not had the opportunity to speak, will be posted on our web page.
I would also like to dedicate special thanks to the special rapporteur, the chair of the permanent forum, and the representative from the voluntary Fund and all panelists, including the Secretariat of UNESCO for their active participation and valuable contributions, and of course, to DSP for their unwavering support in facilitating the participation of indigenous peoples in this session and indeed every year.
Before we close, I would like to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to the outgoing chair, miss Annika Alfred Cunningham, for her leadership over the past year.
Through her commitment and balanced approach, she has guided our work with fairness, inclusivity, and respect for diverse perspectives.
Thank you, Anika.
Your experience and insight remain invaluable and we look forward to your continued contributions as MRP over the next two years.
As we conclude the session, it would be remiss not to acknowledge Cheryl Lightfoot.
Who will complete her term as member of Ex M P in March 2027.
Over the past six years, she has made exceptional contribution to our work through her expertise, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to the mandate.
It is her leadership, her insight, and her dedication that has been deeply valued and her contributions will continue to have a lasting impact on our work.
On behalf of all of us, as an inital sister, I extend our sincere, heartfelt and deep gratitude to Cheryl and wish her every success in the future.
With this, I would like to invite the two indigenous representatives identified by the Indigenous Caucus to perform a traditional closing ceremony.
Mario and Maria, please come and join us for your closing ceremony performance.
My apologies.
Just before we have our closing ceremony, I would just like to give the floor to my colleague, Adulu.
I can't see your flag, so please Aj Thank you, Madam Chair for giving me this opportunity to also offer some closing words, dear colleagues, indigenous representatives and distinguished delegates.
Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone for your active participation and valuable contributions to the work of the expert mechanism on the rights of Indigenous peoples.
I want to acknowledge that your comments, insights, feedback will continue to strengthen the work of the mechanism and indeed advance the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples around the world.
Also, allow me to thank my fellow expert, Professor Sheryl, whose term is coming to an end.
It's not surprising to me that Sherril would address us with this emotion today, knowing her dedication and commitment to the course and also her contribution to the mechanism.
Personally, I've learned a lot from your expertise, wisdom, and commitment.
Even where we don't agree because this is the nature of the work that we don't need to agree on everything, I think your commitment and dedication to the mechanism and to the bigger picture has not been questionable.
For that, I really have big respect for you as a person, but also as an expert on the rights of indigenous people.
I hope and wish every success in your future endeavors and sincerely hope that you will continue to support the mechanism and the broader cause of indigenous people's rights around the world.
For me, this is also my last year in the first term and I'm not decided yet whether to apply for the second term.
But even if I apply, it's not also guaranteed that you would be elected because it has to go through the process.
It's also a possibility that this might be my last session as a member of the expert.
With this in mind, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your support, collaboration, and friendship throughout my term.
Whether I returned or not, I'm committed to supporting the work of the mechanism.
Let me also take this opportunity to thank the Secretariat for your outstanding support.
Throughout the past three years.
I've learned a lot as well from your guidance and support throughout when you come as a new, there are a lot, even though we have been in this field for many years as indigenous human rights defenders, it's different to sit as an expert and your guidance has been very valuable and I would like to thank you for that.
Finally, as announced by the Secretariat yesterday, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage my African brothers and sisters to apply for this position as announced so that we have a capable people competing for this role.
With this word, I thank you and I give the floor back to you, Madam Chair.
Thank you.
Thank you job for your comments and your kind words to our Secretariat and to Cheryl.
I recognize Anika, please.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished representatives of indigenous peoples, states, UN agencies, and colleagues, as we reach the end of the 19th session of the expert mechanism, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all delegations and indigenous peoples, to the Secretariat, to the interpreters, and to all those who made this week possible a week of dialogue, reflection, and commitment to the rights of indigenous peoples.
We have addressed matters that are of huge significance for the rights of indigenous peoples in situations of conflict and post conflict, as well as matters relating to AI and indigenous languages, participation in the UN meetings, our future work, all of this reaffirming that our work remains essential and must continue guided by dialogue, mutual respect, effective implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples.
Before I conclude, I would like to say a few very special words to my colleagues.
Who are also coming to the end of their mandate to Cheryl, who today is taking part in her last session as a member of the mechanism.
Cheryl, thank you for your leadership.
Thank you for your wisdom, for your generosity, and for your unwavering dedication to the rights of indigenous peoples.
Your voice, your experience, and your humility have greatly enriched our collective work.
You have left a mark on this mechanism that will remain with us forever, all of those who have had the great privilege of working with you.
Oh, thank you for your leadership as well.
I had the opportunity of sharing a country visit with you to Brazil and it was really a unique experience.
I learned a great deal from you, from your wisdom, your generosity, and your unswerving commitment to the rights of indigenous peoples.
Your voice and your experience and your community were also essential in the work we've done over these years.
Thank you.
Although today we are bringing this chapter to an end, we know that the commitment of Cheryl and Dejo to indigenous peoples will continue to live on with us and we wish them every success in the past that they will now embark upon.
We hope very much that this is not a permanent goodbye, but just a temporary farewell.
I would also like to thank my other colleagues on the mechanism for their cooperation and their spirit of collaboration during this session.
We must continue to work with the same conviction so that our resolutions result in practical measures that improve the lives of indigenous peoples on the ground around the world.
Thank you very much.
I wish everybody a safe journey home.
May the spirit of cooperation and our ancestors who are with us today and this week continue to be with us until we achieve the goals.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Anika, for your kind words.
I'd now like to ask the two indigenous representatives to perform our closing ceremony.
Thank you.
It's a very emotional day today.
My dear sister, I would like to pay tribute to the work that you did about the languages and the spirit is up there with you.
I remember with great emotion how we worked in New York in the permanent forum on the rights of religious peoples.
I would like to thank all my expert brothers and sisters and the Secretariat who allowed us to say what we think and to write down what we feel We'd also like to express our gratitude for those who have done all the work and I'd like to mention the working group who made possible the existence of the expert mechanism and the permanent forum and the special rapporteur Ds Peoples.
Their names are set in stone.
I walked alongside them.
Now they have gone over to the spirits, doctor Alfonso Martinez President Tonia Vabs as well as the ex head of the Human Rights Council and my brothers and sisters who are now alongside our great spirits.
We worked and shared so many years together to create these instruments and now they are sat alongside the greatest spirits.
I wanted to recall them because they are the inspiration for us to continue our struggle to ensure that our lands can be free.
Hello.
I believe that my the words I have to bring would not make any sense unless they were shared by a woman.
I'd like to share with you the caucus of the Abilawa language, which is from the Tim spas land and they suggested that our friend from the Mapuchi community lead the ceremony here today.
My dear sister, Tower, you went so I would say that to replace the I would like to thank the Spirit.
This was for all the peoples from the four dimensions of the Earth, the ancestors of our blood and the new generations to come who will come through our sons and daughters for those who worked and who will work for those who come with all the strength of Mother Earth and her sacred protection.
Let us enjoy a safe path and be united as a single heart.
In 18 55, the US President Franklin Pierce, proposed signing an agreement with our Great Indian Chief, Noah Seal itself, to purchase the land of his ancestors.
Our brother responded to this proposal with words that have stood the test of time.
The great chief in Washington has sent word that he wants to buy our lands along with words of goodwill.
We want to consider the offer because we also know full well that if we didn't, they would take our lands by force of arms.
But how can you buy or sell the sky or the warmth of the Earth? This idea seems strange to us.
Neither the freshness of the air nor the sparkle of the water belong to us.
How could they be bought? You must know that every part of this land is sacred to my people, the green leaf, the sandy beach, the mist in the forest, the sunrise among the trees, and the mud brown insects, these are sacred experiences and memories of my people.
The dead of the white man forget their land when they begin their journey through the stars.
Our dead, on the other hand, never stray far from the land that is their mother.
The crystal clear water that flows through the rivers and streams is not just water.
It also represents the blood of our ancestors.
If we were to sell it, you would have to remember that it is sacred and teach this to your children.
The murmur of the water is the voice of my father's father.
Of course, we know that the white man does not understand our way of life.
So much so that he gives away one piece of land or another because he does not see it as a sister, but as an enemy.
Once he has made it his own, he disregards it and moves on.
He leaves behind his parents graves without a care.
He endangers the life of his children and does not care about that either, and he treats his mother, the Earth, and his brother, the sky as objects to be bought, exploited, and sold like sheep or colorful stories.
His appetite devours the earth, leaving behind only desert.
We, the indigenous native peoples, we prefer the gentle whisper of the wind as well as the scent of that same wind, cleansed by the midday rain or perfumed with the scent of pine because we love this land just as a child loves the beating of his mother's heart.
If we were to accept your offer, we would have to set one condition that the white man regard the animals of this land as brothers.
What would man become without animals? If all animals were to disappear, man would die in great solitude.
Whatever happens to the animals will very soon happen to man as well for the Earth does not belong to man.
It is man who belongs to the Earth.
Everything is interconnected like the blood that binds a family.
Man did not weave the fabric of life.
He is merely a thread within it and he tempts misfortune if he dares to break that web.
We do not understand why animals are hunted to extinction, why wild horses are tamed, why the secret corners of the forests are saturated with the breath of so many men, and why the landscape of the lush hills is cluttered with chattering cables.
Where is the dense forest disappeared? Where is the eagle disappeared? This is how life ends, and all we can do is try to survive.
Wasish, everything is fine.
Thank you.
What a closing ceremony that was.
Hi.
With deep appreciation, gratitude, and heartfelt thanks to everyone, I close this session wishing safe travels to my indigenous brothers and sisters to their homeland, in particular, my Alto Alfano and also my brothers and sisters from Latin America and everybody.
I'm a little bit lost for words, but thank you so much and it's with gratitude and pleasure I close this session of the expect mechanism.
Thank you.