Some members of the Permanent Forum during the first session in 2002

When the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues met at the United Nations for the first time in May 2002, it was an historical moment for many who had worked for years to make the Forum a reality. As they had long sought, indigenous peoples were able to speak for themselves in a new way, to present their views as full-fledged members of a United Nations body. The Forum is an accomplishment built on the efforts of successive generations of indigenous peoples - begun as early as 1924 at the League of Nations, and continuing, since the 1970s, through decades of partnership with the United Nations.

Why was the Forum established? The Permanent Forum was created by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), by its resolution 2000/22, to: Discuss indigenous issues within the Council's mandate, including economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health and human rights; Provide expert advice and recommendations to the Council and to programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations; and Raise awareness about indigenous issues, and help to integrate and coordinate activities in the UN system.

Who are the Forum members?

The Forum is made up of 16 independent experts, functioning in their personal capacities, with eight of the members nominated by indigenous peoples and eight nominated by Governments. Governments may nominate indigenous experts, if they choose - and some have done so.

The Forum meets for 10 days each year, in New York or Geneva, or a location to be chosen by the Forum.

How are the members nominated and selected? In the resolution establishing the Forum, the Council made clear its wish that the indigenous candidates be nominated in a fair and transparent process. They are to be appointed by the President of the Council on the basis of broad consultations with indigenous organizations, taking into account the diversity and geographical distribution of the indigenous people of the world as well as the principles of transparency, representativity and equal opportunity for all indigenous people, including local indigenous consultation processes.

During the first year's nomination process, indigenous groups settled upon seven socio-cultural regions as a basis for consultations and nominations: Africa; the Arctic and Europe; Asia; Central and South America and the Caribbean; the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe; North America; and the Pacific - with one additional seat that rotates among the three most highly populated regions: Africa; Asia; and Central and South America and the Caribbean. These regional groups consult with local organizations that confer at the grassroots level. The nominees of the regional indigenous processes are then submitted to the ECOSOC President. It is important to note that the members of the Forum do not represent a particular State, indigenous community or region; they are experts serving in their personal capacities.

The eight members nominated by Governments are elected by the Council, based on the five regional groupings of States normally used at the United Nations (Africa; Asia; Eastern Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Western Europe and Other States), with three seats rotating.

The members serve a three-year term and may be re-elected or re-appointed for one additional term.

Land is the generation point of existence... It is a living place Made up of sky, clouds, rivers, trees, the wind, the sand, and the spirit there - it is my own country... It is a living entity. It belongs to me. I belong to the land, I rest in it, I come from there. - Bill Nedji Elder, Northern Territory, Australia

"The international struggle of indigenous peoples has been of vital importance, especially during the past decade, by virtue of the space opened up for the issue within the United Nations system. Indigenous people and the Member States of the United Nations have faced challenges in tackling the issue of the rights of indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, the passage of time and steady effort have made it clear that progress has been achieved…"

-Rigoberta Menchu Tum
Nobel Prize for Peace, 1992
United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, 1993

The long road to the Permanent Forum

1923

The first indigenous ambassador to formally approach the international community was Cayuga Chief Deskaheh, who set out for the League of Nations in 1923 as the representative of the Six Nations of the Iroquois. In the time he spent in Geneva - over a year - working for recognition by the League of Nations, his cause came under serious consideration by some of the delegations, but in the end the League would not hear his case. Still determined, he made an eloquent address to the Swiss public and continued to fight for the rights of his people until his death in 1925. His tenacity and courage continue to inspire and nourish younger generations.

1924

To protest the breaking of the Treaty of Waitangi (New Zealand, 1840), which guaranteed the indigenous Maori ownership of their lands, T.W. Ratana, a Maori religious leader, travelled to London with a large delegation to petition King George for help, but he was denied access. He then sent part of his delegation to Geneva to approach the League of Nations, where they received similar treatment. The following year, 1925, Ratana himself traveled to Geneva, but he, too, was denied access.

When indigenous peoples were denied access or recognition, they had no recourse when legal agreements with them were broken or disregarded.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) began investigations into forced labour using "native populations".

1957

The ILO adopted the first international legal instrument concerning indigenous peoples and their rights, which was replaced by the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No. 169) in 1989.

1970-71

In response to reports of human rights violations, in 1970 the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities recommended that there be a comprehensive study on the situation of indigenous peoples, and in 1971 it appointed Special Rapporteur José Martínez Cobo to undertake the work.

1977

As Special Rapporteur Martínez Cobo made progress reports to the Sub-Commission, the situation of indigenous peoples began to draw attention. Nearly 200 indigenous delegates from around the world went to Geneva to attend a conference of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on discrimination against indigenous people. Initially, many of them were not allowed entry, because they did not fit into any established category of organization. Special arrangements were quickly made by the United Nations to accommodate them, and similar arrangements have been maintained until today.

1981-84

The Martínez Cobo study, consisting of five volumes submitted from 1981 to 1984, proved to be a watershed. It appealed eloquently to the international community to act decisively on behalf of indigenous peoples.

1982

The Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) was established by ECOSOC to be a subsidiary body of the Sub-Commission with a mandate to review developments pertaining to the promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous populations, giving special attention to the evolution of standards concerning those rights. Shortly after its establishment, arrangements were made that are unique within the UN system to allow indigenous participation in the sessions of the Working Group.

1993

The United Nations proclaimed 1993 the International Year of the World's Indigenous People "to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous communities in areas such as human rights, the environment, development, education and health."

At the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna), a permanent forum for indigenous people was first called for.

1994

The International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004) was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, and the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people was included as one of two major goals in its programme of activities.

All told, it took 80 years, almost the entire history of the League of Nations and the United Nations together, for indigenous voices to arrive on the podium of an official United Nations meeting. Finally they are speaking in their own voices.

Chief Deskaheh

A few months before his death in 1925, Chief Deskaheh made a speech by radio in Rochester, New York. The following is an excerpt: "This is the story of the Mohawks, the story of the Oneidas, of the Cayugas - I am a Cayuga - of the Onondagas, the Senecas, and the Tuscaroras. They are the Iroquois. Tell it to those who have not been listening. Maybe I will be stopped from telling it. But if I am prevented from telling it over, as I hope I do, the story will not be lost. I have already told it to thousands of listeners in Europe. It has gone into the records where your children can find it when I may be dead or be in jail for daring to tell the truth. I have told this story in Switzerland. They have free speech in little Switzerland. One can tell the truth over there in public, even if it is uncomfortable for some great people. This story comes straight from Deskaheh, one of the chiefs of the Cayugas. I am the speaker of the Council of the Six Nations, the oldest League of Nations now existing. It was founded by Hiawatha. It is a League which is still alive and intends, as best it can, to defend the rights of the Iroquois to live under their own laws in their own little countries now left to them, to worship their Great Spirit in their own way, and to enjoy the rights which are as surely theirs as the white man's rights are his own." Portion of Deskaheh's last speech from Basic Call to Consciousness, by permission of The Book Publishing Company, Summertown, Tennessee, USA

Who is indigenous? Who decides? The question of who is or is not an indigenous group has been difficult to address. There are some countries that say they have no indigenous peoples living within their borders, while groups of people living in those countries who have distinct languages and cultures consider themselves indigenous to the lands on which they live, and are actively seeking to protect their cultures and their right to their lands and resources. A description of indigenous peoples found in the study by Special Rapporteur José Martínez Cobo is often cited. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as "the United Nations definition", but, in practice, the United Nations asks whether indigenous groups identify themselves as such.

Participation at the Forum

The Economic and Social Council decided to use the same rules for participation at meetings of the Forum as those used by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. Indigenous organizations who have registered to participate in the meeting may do so as observers. States, United Nations bodies and organs, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Council may do so as well. Organizations that have registered to participate may address the Forum, as time allows. These rules are exceptional within the United Nations system, and were created to include representatives of indigenous peoples.

Indigenous organizations that wish to attend the Forum are strongly urged to pre-register.

Following is an often-cited description of indigenous people from the study by United Nations Special Rapporteur J. Martínez Cobo:

"Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems."

This historical continuity, he says, may consist of occupation of ancestral lands, common ancestry, common culture, language, or other relevant factors. On an individual basis, an indigenous person is one who identifies himself as belonging to such a group, and who is accepted by the group.

Indigenous peoples around the world Throughout the world today, it is widely recognized that indigenous peoples are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable. It is estimated that there are 300 to 500 million indigenous people in more than 70 countries around the world, representing over 5,000 languages and cultures on every continent.

Indigenous peoples, in their closely dependent relationships to their environment, often state that they have guardianship of the earth - their terrestrial mother, the giver of all life. Expressed another way, they feel they are the spiritual landlords of nations, while the governing, or political landlords are usually not indigenous.

Today, many indigenous peoples are engaged in a struggle to remain on their lands and retain the right to their natural resources. Other indigenous peoples have long since been removed from their lands, denied their languages and traditional ways, and consequently been left impoverished.

Some members of later generations are now reclaiming languages and cultures, but dominant societies find themselves struggling with the financial and social costs of their earlier actions, costs that they are finding difficult to pay in full.

For additional information, please contact:

Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Division for Social Policy and Development
Room DC2-1772
New York, NY 10017
Tel: 1 (917) 367-5100
Fax: 1 (917) 367-5102
E-mail: IndigenousForum@un.org

On the Internet: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/pfii
(Note: please do not contact the Secretariat for registration information)

For pre-registration information:

Mr. Yao Ngoran
Chief, NGO Unit
Division for Social Policy andDevelopment
Room DC2-1376
New York, NY 10017
Tel: 1 (212) 963 3175
Fax: 1 (212) 963 3062
E-mail: ngoran@un.org

Please direct media queries to:

United Nations Department of Public Information
Tel: 1 (212) 963-6877
E-mail: mediainfo@un.org