MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS

This workshop is a collaborative effort between the United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (SPFII) and North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance.

The main objectives of the workshop are to consider:

· the effects of climate change on indigenous peoples;
· adaptation measures to climate change;
· carbon projects and carbon trading; and
· factors that enable or obstruct indigenous peoples’ participation in the climate change processes.

The Expert Group Meeting seeks to draw on the expertise of indigenous peoples, UNPFII members, relevant United Nations agencies, intergovernmental agencies, national and local governments, indigenous peoples' organizations, non-government organizations and academics that are active within the field of climate change.

SPFII has prepared a background paper. Climate Change an Overview

For information about the meeting, please contact the organizers:
Mr Sam Johnston United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies, email: johnston@ias.unu.edu

Ms. Sonia Smallacombe, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, email: smallacombe@un.org

Mr Joe Morrison North Australian Indigenous Land & Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) Charles Darwin University, Darwin NT, email: joe.morrison@cdu.edu.au

For administrative arrangements, contact Ms. Rahera Noa, United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies, email: noa@ias.unu.edu

Click here to view the documents from the meeting 

This Expert Group Meeting is being organized in accordance with ECOSOC decision 2007/244, which authorized a three-day international expert group meeting on indigenous languages and requested that the results of the meeting be reported to the Permanent Forum at its seventh session.

In addition, the Permanent Forum stated the following in its report:

"Considering that 2008 is the International Year of Languages, the Permanent Forum recommends holding an expert group meeting on indigenous languages that will call upon States, the United Nations system and indigenous peoples and their organizations to consider the following elements:

(a) Working towards concrete actions and legislative development aimed at eliminating discrimination against the current use of indigenous languages;

(b) Developing programmes aimed at promoting the empowerment of indigenous languages through all mediums, including radio and television;

(c) Supporting and increasing the number of centres for the study of indigenous languages;

(d) Financing and supporting schemes for special projects that are formulated by indigenous peoples and are focused on revitalization and rescue of threatened languages;

(e) Designing, in consultation with indigenous peoples and the Permanent Forum, the organization of a world conference on linguistic diversity, indigenous languages, identity and education, as a contribution to the programme of the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People."

The Agenda of the Meeting will be based on the above mentioned recommendation of the forum.

The EGM will be attended by indigenous experts, UNPFII members as well as interested Member States, UN Agencies, Indigenous Peoples' Organizatinos, AND Non-Governmental Organizations. Interested parties should contact the Secretariat about participating in the EGM as observers. Please note that space in the conference room is limited and the Secretariat may not be able to accommodate all requests for participation.

Contact: Broddi Sigurdarson (sigurdarson[at]un.org)

Click here to read more about the Meeting and to view the meeting documents.

Click here to view the documents from the meeting.

Some 80 persons participated at the workshop, including 13 Members of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, indigenous experts from the Pacific Region, Central and South America, Africa, the Arctic, North America, and the Russian Federation, representatives of 7 companies operating in the Russian Federation, representatives of the Government of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, and representatives of national and international non-governmental organizations.

Click here to view the documents from the workshop

A. OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP

The Expert Group Meeting is intended to:

• Promote an opportunity to evaluate current negotiation and agreement-making practices in terms of effective participation of indigenous peoples and their ability to produce outcomes which adequately take into account indigenous peoples’ concerns and rights;
• Promote an opportunity to exchange information of ABS processes currently operating in various regions that take into account the rights of indigenous peoples;
• Promote an opportunity to formulate benchmarks for agreement-making and;
• Highlight good practice models;
• Identify gaps and challenges and a possible way forward.

B. PROPOSED THEMES FOR DISCUSSION

Four major themes of discussion are proposed as follows:

Theme 1: International Standards and policies on agreement-making with reference to indigenous peoples.

Theme 2: Areas in which indigenous peoples’ participation is relevant to any ABS arrangements.

Theme 3: Factors that enable or obstruct indigenous peoples’ participation in the CDB processes.

Theme 4: Good examples of indigenous participation in negotiating ABS processes in other arenas.

Click here to view the documents of the Expert Group Meeting

Migration, especially the movement of people across national borders, has risen to the top of the development agenda in recent years. This is a result of the recognition of the far-reaching development implications of migrant flows for both sending and receiving communities. A review by the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) has observed that migration has generally not been considered an integral component of the development agenda. While this neglect is evident across countries and various population groups, it is even more acute with respect to indigenous populations.

The SPFII, with the collaboration and assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), is organizing a meeting to address some of the gaps in knowledge with respect to indigenous peoples and migration. It is expected that the conclusions and recommendations of this meeting will feed into discussions at the Fifth Session of the UNPFII in May and also provide inputs into the UN High Level Dialogue on International Migration in September 2006.

Click here for additional information about the workshop

The UN system and a significant number of its Member States have been gearing their programming at the national level for the achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 18 targets and 48 indicators. The formulation of the Goals and the targets and indicators, however, did not include the participation of or consultation with indigenous peoples, thus resulting in a situation where the goals, targets and indicators do not capture or inadequately capture the situation of indigenous peoples. At its Fourth Session in 2005, the Permanent Forum stated that “…Poverty indicators based on indigenous peoples’ own perception of their situation and experiences should be developed jointly with indigenous peoples”

In order to assist in this effort, the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum is organizing a series of meetings of indigenous experts on indicators and seeks to build on the challenges, gaps, and existing work on global and regional indicators across the mandated areas of the Permanent Forum.

Click here to view the Meeting Report and the papers submitted at the meeting

This workshop was organized in accordance with the recommendation of the United
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at its Fourth Session and as decided by
the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of 2005(decision 2005/252).
The overall objectives of the workshop were:
1) Highlight the importance of indigenous representation in decision-making processes within the context of the MDGs and the Millennium Declaration overall, as well as the broader context of the current socio-economic and political transformations, the World Summit Outcome and the broader UN development agenda.

2) Examine linkages between indigenous presence in governance and other decision-making bodies at all levels and their impact on policy formulation and the conduct of public institutions.

3) Consider the interplay between indigenous economic and political participation and the development of indigenous communities and their economic empowerment, focusing on persisting barriers to indigenous entry into politics and public representative institutions in light of their economic empowerment in the past decades.

4) Propose strategies to advance indigenous participation through capacity-building, coalition-building and indigenous and gender-sensitive institutional policies, programmes and mechanisms.

Click here to view the Workshop Documents

The workshop was organized as follow up to the recommendations of the Permanent Forum (E/2005/43) and hosted by the UNICEF's Regional for Latin American and the Caribbean. The workshop was attended by 12 indigenous experts from various regions (Latin America, Asia, Pacific, Africa, North America, the Arctic and Russian Federation), representatives from 9 UN agencies, 2 members of the Permanent Forum and the Chairperson / Rapporteur of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations.

During the two and half day workshop, participants exchanged information and extensively discussed ways on how different United Nations entities working on traditional knowledge can better integrate a more collaborative, complementary and holistic approach to traditional knowledge in order to enhance better understanding of indigenous concerns and their possible solution. The outstanding quality of papers presented by indigenous experts were highly appreciated, they have substantively contributed towards the formulation of specific recommendations to the UN system and other inter-governmental organizations with a view to better integrating indigenous perspectives in their work on traditional knowledge. The report and recommendations were adopted by the workshop and will be submitted to the Fifth Session of the Permanent Forum.

View all of the papers from the workshop here

This workshop was held at the International Conference on Engaging Communities in Brisbane Australia. Click here to view all of the Workshop Documents.

>>Guidelines for engagement with indigenous peoples

>>Background Paper: Engaging Indigenous Peoples in governance processes

The International Workshop on Methodologies regarding Free, Prior and
Informed Consent and Indigenous Peoples was convened in accordance with
Economic and Social Council decision 2004/287 of 22 July 2004, following a
recommendation of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at its third session.
The principle of free, prior and informed consent had been identified as a major
challenge by the Forum at its first, second and third sessions. In response to the
Council’s decision, the Workshop was held from 17 to 19 January 2005.
The Workshop was attended by 67 experts and observers from the United
Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations, Governments and
indigenous organizations. The Workshop examined the international and domestic
instruments and practices relevant to the principle of free, prior and informed
consent, heard examples of the application of the principle, identified challenges, and
made recommendations about free, prior and informed consent and indigenous
peoples.
In its conclusions and recommendations, the Workshop identifies elements of a
common understanding of free, prior and informed consent and indigenous peoples,
promoting better methodologies regarding free, prior and informed consent and
indigenous peoples for the consideration of the Forum at its fourth session.

Click here to view all of the Workshop documents