UNPFII25 will take place from 20 April – 1 May 2026. Theme: "Ensuring Indigenous Peoples' health, including in the context of conflict"
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Good morning. Good morning. Thank you. Yeah, I think since we're all here, I'm going to start. It's. Good morning everyone. The fifth meeting of the 25th session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is called to order. In accordance with our program of work, the forum will begin its consideration of agenda item 5d entitled Human Rights Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Annual Review of the Progress of the implementation of General recommendation number 39 2022. Before proceeding further, I would like to thank all of you again for your cooperation in using the limited space available to us yesterday. In that regard, I would like to kindly request that no one is standing or sitting on the stairs. Additional seats are also available in the second row behind the nameplates for Indigenous peoples organizations. The forum members and the indigenous parliamentarians have also kindly permitted that the advisor seats behind them might be used by representatives of Indigenous peoples organizations. Further, you can stand at the back of this room, but as aforementioned, please not on the stairs. Conference room 7 will be used as an overflow room with live broadcast and interpretation in Spanish. There will be 30 minutes to collect names of representatives of Indigenous peoples organizations wishing to speak. So I would kindly ask those that have not found a place to sit to please go to the overflow room, Conference Room 7. After you informed IPDB staff of your wish to speak. When we conduct the interactive discussion, I will announce the three speakers from Indigenous peoples organizations to speak so that you would have sufficient time to come from Conference room seven here and go to the reserve seat to speak. If your organization's name was among these three, please signify to the IPDB staff when you are here in Conference Room 3. I kindly ask representatives of Indigenous peoples organizations that have spoken to go to Conference Room 7 to allow their sisters and brothers to have a seat with microphone here in Conference Room 3. I thank you all so much for your understanding and cooperation. We will now proceed to the interactive dialogue with presentations by panelists, after which the floor will be opened for questions and comments without a pre established list of speakers. Member States and UN entities wishing to speak after the presentations are invited to press already now their microphone button to request the floor. Indigenous peoples organizations wishing to speak may raise their hand. From now, we will keep the list open for 30 minutes and Desa staff will give them a piece of paper to write their name, the name of the organization under which they are registered for the forum and and the region they belong to. And if you are seated in a numbered nameplate, please indicate the number in front of the nameplate on the piece of paper. Before the conclusion of this meeting, our panelists will be invited to share brief final reflections. This afternoon we will continue our consideration of this item with the general discussion and a pre established list of speakers. I now have the great pleasure to warmly welcome and introduce our distinguished panelists on the podium, Mr. Albert Barume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of indigenous peoples and Ms. Annex Bendali. Alfred Cunningham, the Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. I first give the floor to Mr. Albert Barume, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Madam Chairperson, Member of the Permanent Forum, Member of the Expert Mechanisms, Members and Chair of the Trustee of the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I'm honored to address the 25th session of the Permanent Forum and to join this dialogue on human rights situation of Indigenous people. Let me first warmly congratulate you, Madam Chair, for your reappointments and also wish all the members, particularly the new one of the Forum, success for their mandates. Madam Chairperson, I will focus my statement on three points today. First, I will elaborate a little bit on the theme of this session. Second, I will provide an overview of my mandates activities. And last, I will reflect on the global situation of human rights. Madam Chairperson, let me begin with the theme of this session. In conflict setting, indigenous peoples often suffer from the greatest consequences, even though they have contributed the least to those conditions. The land are militarized, occupied. Their communities are displaced, Their leaders are threatened. Access to food, water, health and education are disrupted. In those circumstances, health must be understood in a broad and holistic sense. Not only as access to medical services, but as the ability to live in dignity, in peace, with cultural continuity and control over their resources. Madam Chairperson, over the last 15 months of my mandate, my work has continued around the four pillars of the mandate. First, systematic reporting I submitted a first report to the Human Rights Council focused on recognition, stressing that state must acknowledge historical injustices first, then legally protect or recognize international standards and last but not least, States must also distinguish indigenous people from other right holders. I also submit their report to the General assembly on legal protection for indigenous people, lands and territory, highlighting a global high demand for indigenous peoples land which is driven by five factors which are transition minerals, transition energy, carbon market, conservation of unprotected areas as well as geopolitical and international security interests. Looking ahead in 2026, report to the General assembly will continue to focus on land rights, examining state practice with the view to distilling good practices. I'm also preparing the report to the Human Rights Council on historical and contemporary violation of reproductive health and rights of indigenous women and girls. This is a matter that victims themselves have brought to the mandate. As an agency seeking great recognition, accountability and redress with respect to country visits, I conducted an official visit to Botswana in September 2025 where I observed Madam Chair the importance of ensuring stronger protection for indigenous people's rights, including legal recognition, land rights, access to justice and services and safeguarding languages as well as cultures. I'm also preparing an official visit to Australia and I take this opportunity to thank the Government of Australia. At the same time, I wish to acknowledge with appreciation the invitation extended to my mandate by Brazil and Guatemala, but unfortunately I couldn't take those missions because of budget constraints. The communication Madam Chair remains one of the mandate most important tool for protecting indigenous people's rights. Over the last 15 months the mandate have sent out over 65 communication to states, private entities and other non state actors for alleged violations of indigenous people's rights. Those communications were addressed to 29 states that are Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Tanzania and the United States of America as well as Vietnam. In addition to State Madam Chair, my mandate has decided to also engage private companies. Over the last 15 months I have sent 14 communication to mining company, to oil company including toll oil, Gulf Energy and so on and so forth. Madam Chair, the case received by my mandate show a trend of worrying five factors that I here would like to highlight. First, there is a trend of regression Indigenous peoples standard being watered down by states and many institutions. There is a growing hate speech against indigenous peoples, criminalization of indigenous leaders and defenders like Daria Egevera and many others, growing pressure on indigenous people's land without free pro and informed consent, and as well as growing vulnerability of indigenous people living in isolation. Madam Chairperson, let me say that this year is a 25th anniversary of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Indigenous Peoples. I'm pleased to announce that this milestone will be celebrated with a side event on Friday 24th. The event will feature prominent stakeholders, including two previous mandate holders, Professor James Anaya and Ambassador Kali, that I hereby thanked for their participation. This is a moment not only to reflect on achievement, but also to confront today reality. We are living through a period in which human rights standards are increasingly questioned and multilateralism is in itself under pressure. Because indigenous people's rights are deeply rooted in international law, they are especially vulnerable when international norms are weakened, resisted or ignored. And yet, indigenous peoples are not obstacle to development. They are not obstacles to climate change, climate change. They are not obstacles to conservation. They are not obstacles to peace. They are right holders, partners and indispensable actors in building just, sustainable and peaceful societies. States must and should reset their relationship with indigenous peoples on the basis of recognition, reconciliation, partnership, respect and self determination. In closing, Madam Chair, I wish to commend the Permanent Forum for its leadership and reaffirm my commitment to work closely in collaboration with other UN mechanisms. After 25 years of this mandate and 25 sessions of this forum, one message is clear. Indigenous people's rights are no longer at the margin of international system. That progress must now be defended, deepened and translated into implementation. I thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I thank Mr. Barume. Next, I give the floor to Ms. Anexa Alfred Cunningham, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Mucha gracias.
Thank you very much. Madam Chair, Allow me to congratulate you on your appointment and to wish you every success as you steer the work of this important, important session. I also wish to echo congratulations extended to new members. Excellencies, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, colleagues, brothers and sisters, allow me to greet you in my mother tongue. It is a pleasure for me to attend this session of the Permanent Forum. As Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, allow me to present to you the key activities conducted by the Expert Mechanism over the last year. The Mechanism held its 18th session in Geneva between the 14th and 18th of July 2025. The mechanism at that meeting adopted the study entitled the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to Data, including data collection and disaggregation. That study was subsequently presented before the sixth 60th session of the Human Rights Council. Moreover, the mechanism presented its report on the rights of indigenous peoples to their traditional economies. It also presented its annual report which detailed the activities undertaken throughout the year. The study on the rights of indigenous Peoples to data emphasized the fact that data is a cultural, strategic and economic resource. Moreover, it analyzed the implicit recognition of the right of indigenous peoples to access and control data related to their lives, cultures, lands, territories and resources under current international law. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms the inherent human right to autonomy, data autonomy more specifically in manifold context, for example in the context of information circulation and data collection in order to improve the social and economic conditions of indigenous peoples. The study concluded with decision 18 of the expert Mechanism. That decision saw a proposal of a whole host of measures including collection, disaggregation, use and protection of data measures in these areas that would involve indigenous peoples at all stages of the data process. This work would respect their self determination, their cultural protocols and their knowledge systems. There was a report relative to indigenous peoples and their right to their Indigenous their traditional Economies rather, to which I previously referred. It underscored the need for robust legal protection and the recognition of governance systems and land tenure rights, as well as the effective implementation of the principle of epic. Moreover, the study underscored the fundamental role that traditional economies play in supporting food security and sovereignty as well as the conservation of biodiversity, climate resilience and other things. The study also recognized a number of persistent challenges such as legal and normative loopholes, pillaging, gender exclusion and environmental degradation. The report concluded with a series of recommendations. These included the recognition and promotion of traditional economies through legal and normative frameworks which were in line with international standards. It also pointed to the need for the use of digital platforms by indigenous peoples to improve their visibility and bolster their resilience. Allow me now to touch on the intercessional activities of the expert mechanism. On the 24th of September I participated in the annual roundtable of the 60th session of the Human Rights Council on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The debate there focused on the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of a just transition towards sustainable energy systems, including regarding critical minerals. On that same day, the mechanism held an interactive dialogue with the Human Rights Council Under Agenda Item 5. This event enjoyed the participation of indigenous peoples accredited as peoples and that was in line with precedent established in the previous session. That development strengthens their effective participation in the work of the Human rights council. Between the 1st and 5th of December 2025, the expert mechanism held in Geneva its strategic planning meeting for the intercessional period. It also held an expert seminar on the rights of indigenous peoples in conflict and post conflict situations, and the Mechanism brought together indigenous professionals, academics and other experts in this field. Moreover, the Expert Mechanism continued to actively participate in the meetings of the Global Task Force for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, coordinated by UNESCO in 2026. The expert mechanism has continued to discharge its mandate, one of great commitment to countries. Against that backdrop, the Mechanism has recently been requested to provide advice regarding the recognition of the status of indigenous peoples under the Indigenous Peoples Law of Canada. During its statement before the Permanent Forum last year, the Expert Mechanism announced its intention to hold a mission in Brazil. Despite the fact that that Visit was initially schedul 2025, I'm nevertheless delighted to state that that mission will take place in June 2026. There will be a focus on indigenous peoples, involuntary isolation and initial contact during that mission. I now want to talk about the new session of MRIP the 19th session. It will be held between the 13th and 17th of July in Geneva. The agenda will include a roundtable on the rights of indigenous peoples and artificial intelligence. There will be an interactive dialogue between the Special Rapporteur on indigenous Peoples, you, the Permanent Forum, the chair of the Executive Board of the Voluntary Fund and members of the UN Treaty bodies. The Expert Mechanism will devote debates to the International decade on indigenous Languages. It will discuss the strengthening of indigenous peoples participation in the relevant bodies of the UN and will discuss preparations for the 20th anniversary of UNDRIP that will be marked in 2027. Moreover, we will present a study. Study? Our study rather, on the rights of indigenous peoples in conflict and post conflict situations. The draft of that study will be open for public comment during the session before it is ultimately presented to the Human Rights council at its 63rd session in September. Before concluding, I wish to extend my gratitude to Mr. Binotta Boy Damai, member of the Mechanism for Asia, that their mandate concluded this month. I also Wish to congratulate Ms. Dali Sambuadoro for her re election as a as Member for the Arctic region and Mr. Gamshe Moi, new Member for Asia, who will take up the role in May. To conclude, I wish to thank the Permanent Forum for their unwavering commitment and on behalf of my colleagues, I wish to reaffirm our commitment to this cooperation. Thank you.
Gracias. I thank miss Alfred Cunningham. Before I open the floor for interventions from the floor, may I gently recall to support the interpreters, speakers are kindly requested to speak at a reasonable speed and send their statements in advance with the meeting's date and title to estatementsn.org Participants must ensure that they sit only on the seat that bears their design designation. Representatives of Indigenous Peoples organizations may not sit directly behind the nameplate of the UN Member State. I now give the floor to the Representative of the European Union on behalf of their members.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Armenia align themselves with this statement. We welcome this opportunity to engage with a special rapporteur, Dr. Barumi, to receive updates on the important work of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The UN Member States commend that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has led to increased recognition of indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, we remain concerned that the persistent challenges indigenous peoples face as outlined in the Special Rapporteur's report. We thank the Member States of the Expert Mechanism and the rights of Indigenous Peoples for their ongoing efforts. The EU recognizes the important contributions of the UN mechanisms working on indigenous peoples and supports their role in bringing independent analysis and advice. The UN's member states will continue to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples as set out in UNDRIP and international human rights law. Indigenous peoples face a disproportionate burden from climate change and remain among the most vulnerable to its impact. We therefore welcome this year's inter regional, intergenerational and global dialogue which focused on the effects of climate change on indigenous peoples. While the disproportionate impact of climate change on indigenous peoples is well documented, their unique knowledge, resilience and contributions to climate mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction remain under recognized Indigenous knowledge and traditions are crucial for sustainable land and forest management. Chair Urgent action is needed to prevent harm and ensure accountability, especially to stop death and human rights violations faced by indigenous peoples. The un, its Member States strongly condemn all acts of reprisals, harassments or violence against human rights defenders, civil society organizations, especially those engaging with UN mechanisms. We reaffirm that the full, effective and meaningful participation and leadership of indigenous women remains essential for community led solutions. Additionally, it is important to provide indigenous children with access to education, including in their own language and culture. I thank you Chair
I thank the representative of the European Union on on its member and its on behalf of its Member States. I now call upon the representative of the Indigenous Peoples Rights International seated in nameplate 45. Indigenous Peoples Organization hello.
Thank you, Chair, and greetings to all in attendance from Indigenous Peoples Rights International. Please allow me to start by highlighting the 25th anniversary of the creation of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We also honor the past and present Rapporteurs while also stressing the enduring need for the support for the Mandate. We emphasize the need for support for country visits which allow the Rapporteur to directly hear from Indigenous Peoples governments and others and provide specific and actionable recommendations to advance Indigenous Peoples rights. We call on States to increase support for the mandate so it has the necessary resources for missions and other work regarding the monitoring of CEDAW's general recommendation number 39 on the rights of Indigenous Women and girls. We welcome the attention to this key general recommendation and its inclusion in the agenda of the Forum. However, we believe that all would benefit from additional guidance on how such monitoring should take place and on what basis. This includes how the Forum may promote dialogue with CEDAW itself and promote the General recommendation within the UN system and specialize agencies more generally, including via the Country Offices of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. We recommend that the Forum adopts a recommendation to commission a study on how it may promote and enhance monitoring and implementation of cedaw. We urge that this be done in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and especially with Indigenous Women's Organization, and we pledge our support to any efforts to this end. EPRI was founded to combat the increasing levels of criminalization faced by Indigenous peoples in all regions of the world. As the Forum 2024 paper on criminalization States, this includes criminalization of the exercise of international guaranteed rights and criminalization of protests violations of those rights. We call on the Forum to support implementation of the recommendations in that report and to continue to devote attention to criminalization, including its dialogue with the members of the UN system. We also recommend that the Forum and the Special Rapport Tour pay attention to Indigenous peoples confronting arbitrary detention, imprisonment and judicial harassment for the defense and exercise of their rights, including through dedicated studies on these issues. Finally, I noted EPRI intends to hold an international Conference on Indigenous Peoples and criminalization in 2027 as part of marking the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I thank the representative of the Indigenous People's Rights International. I now call upon the representative of Mexico,
Special Rapporteur. We are grateful for the work of the Special Rapporteur and that of the Expert mechanism. Their mandates are crucial for Mexico. We welcome the recent renewal of the Special Rapporteurs mandate. That is a reflection of the trust that that the international community has placed in the relevance, independence and continuity of that work. We value this dialogue and the implementation of General Recommendation 39. As a party to CEDAW, Mexico has shouldered the responsibility to eliminate discrimination against women. Consequently, we closely work with the Committee. Mexico presented its 10th periodic report in June 2025 in Geneva. My country is closely following the recommendations issued by CEDAW, particularly general recommendation number 30. That recommendation has guided our government in terms of legislative and policy measures that are relevant to guarantee compliance with Mexico's obligations when it comes to the right of indigenous women and girls. In 2025, Mexico's President Claudia Scheimer declared the Year of Indigenous Women in order to underscore the historic cultural and social importance of indigenous women and the importance of the implementation of public policies which meet their needs and ensure that they can enjoy their rights with an intersect culturally relevant and gender sensitive approach. I want to underscore that the reform of the second article of our Constitution in 2024 was rooted in international standards. And now that section of the Constitution explicitly recognizes and guarantees the rights of indigenous women to effectively and on an equal footing participate in comprehensive processes of development for their peoples as well as their right to take part in the adoption of public decisions regarding their right to education, health, land, possession, property and their access to other human rights. Moreover, I wish to share that Mexico is working to draw up a general law on the rights of indigenous people that will regulate the provisions of our constitutional reform, particularly when it pertains to indigenous women. It will bear in mind General Recommendation 39. We are aware that many obstacles remain to guarantee gender equality in all spheres of public life. However, we reaffirm our commitment to upholding international standards in order to achieve a fairer, more egalitarian society and one that is free of all bias for women. Thank you.
I thank the representative of Mexico. I take a moment to remind us all to speak at a reasonable speed so that the interpreters are able to convey our messages clearly. I now call upon the representative of association de Fempep autocton de Chad AFPAT, seated in nameplate 107 Indigenous People's Organization. Please press the microphone button.
Hello. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a president of the Ameranyan People's association in Guyana, I'm honored to present at this forum today.
I'm sorry, I'm. I'm Calling upon The organization called AFFAT. I'm going to move on. I'm going to call upon the representative of the Amerindian Peoples association seated in nameplate 7 Indigenous Peoples Organization.
Thank you. Good morning all. Madam Chair. As a president of the Amerindians People's association in Guyana, I am honored to present at this forum today. In my country, access to health services continues to be the challenge that persists due to institutional discrimination and cultural exclusion in our health policies. This has been the situation for generations. Our elders must trek through mountains, valleys and rivers to access critical health services. Essential treatment like antivenom is unavailable to men who must leave their homes to provide for their families. Poor birthing conditions persist as women at times must cross borders to access health care. Young people's mental health is neglected as suicide reports become more prevalent. These conditions are more evident with encroachment of mining into our territories. An encroachment that is paralleled by alarming increases in the rate of infectious diseases like malaria and dengue, along with effects of mercury. Madam Chair. We commend the government for investments in health for hospitals and more professionals. But at the same time we have grave inequities that persist. Our health depends on the survival of our culture, the promotion of our knowledge systems and the protection of our lands. Accessing essential equipment, medicine, care, infrastructure and even our languages remain difficult tasks. Our language, culture and health are inseparable components of our collective and sustain well being. Oftentimes our people are forced to suffer delays in critical treatment because the health provider and patient cannot understand each other. This is a grave example of traditional culture being dismissed as pollution from mining and logging destroy our natural medicines. Chair. Indigenous peoples need more open, consultative and respectful avenues for dialogue between our leadership councils and governments to shape the solutions to improve our health conditions. Pollution, the interests of extractive sector, the exclusion of our culture and the politicization of our community issues have left us too divided to craft responsive health programs. We call on our government to conduct consistent and meaningful consultations with our councils on national health care that respect our self determination for how we manage our peoples and territories. Thank you.
I thank the representative of the Amerindian People's Association. I now call upon the representative of the Native American Journalists association seated in nameplate 75. Indigenous peoples organization. Thank you members of the Permanent forum delegates and our indigenous relatives. Wait. Cojweda.
My name is Dion Phillips and I'm a member of the Hazu First Nation and a storyteller with indigenous. I'm speaking to you Today, as an Indigenous journalist and a member of the Indigenous Journalist association, as one of the first people of what is now called Canada, I'm here to discuss freedom of expression and the importance of speaking our truth without worry of unnecessary retaliation, especially in times of uncertainty and duress. Travel by Indigenous people has always been a challenge, including in areas such as the highway of Tears, which is a route heavily known to heavily contribute to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Today. The 1794 J Treaty allows for Indigenous persons to pass freely between the United States and Canada, but it is still largely unknown or even regulated. With the recent uncertainty of the relationship between Canada and the United States, a common theme seems to be worry which impacts the mental health of our Indigenous relatives, including Indigenous reporters. Indigenous stories being told by Indigenous journalists in our own words is an important source of information, information for the public, including communities that have been underserved for many years. Across North America, Indigenous women and girls continue to go missing and are murdered at alarming rates. We need Indigenous journalists to tell these stories. Indigenous practices such as oral storytelling about our sovereign nations and history can improve mental and spiritual health, especially for women and girls. Today, with organizations such as the Indigenous Journalists Association, I see more Indigenous professionals in positions that ensure our stories are told in our own words. These stories are so important as we face the harmful mental impacts of uncertain travel and the loss of women and girls in our communities. Indigenous territories span across the current colonial borders and it is important that the right to work and feature the stories that come from communities all over the world is upheld. We must continue to share our voices. We call upon the members of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to encourage states to recognize the law of the Jay Treaty, to encourage Indigenous reporters to exercise their right to work across borders, and finally, to ensure Indigenous reporters and storytellers, including women and girls, can exercise their right to tell their stories for their people without their health suffering. We make these calls to the members to support Indigenous people's right to free expression and self determination through our journalism. Gugstaff GU thank you. I thank the representative of the Native American Journalist Association. I now call upon the representative of Samiri alifuro, seated in nameplate 62 Indigenous Peoples Organization.
TABEO Relatives thank you, Madam Chair. All protocols observed. We thank the special operator and the expert mechanism for the representations. However, we take the opportunity to raise concern about the elephant in the room, the UN AD Initiative. This process cannot be treated as a positive opportunity and it is no longer abstract. An ad hoc working group now exists to review mandates and observer participation matters because access determines how rules are written and this is not hypothetical. Un women and UNFPA are now under merger assessment. The special opportunities on trafficking and contemporary slavery have already been merged. Being welcomed as part of the family is not the same as having a seat at the table. That framing is tone deaf to what participation actually requires in practice. This session we have been moved from CR4 to CR3 and it is no longer 10 days. These are not administrative decisions, they are political ones and they signal exactly the kind of quiet dilution we are warning against. We therefore recommend five points. 1. The forum should urge Member States to ensure continuity under UN80. No mandate or mechanism should be merged, reduced or retired unless the change is clearly justified and shown not to reduce protection in practice. Two, we call for structured participation in the ad hoc working group, including access to documents and opportunities for written inputs. We lobbied and fought hard for observer participation last month in the review resolution negotiations. 3. Member states must protect the human rights architecture as a whole. If this pillar weakens, everything downstream becomes easier to merge or recast as duplication. Four, the danger is not only open retirement, but dilution through broader framing and reduced frequency or scaled down secretariats. A mechanism may remain on paper while losing its power to protect. And five, we call for full transparency in this process. Also regarding the criteria used to classify mandates as quote unquote duplicative and that all measures are temporary. Access to justice should not become cumbersome in opaque machinery that quietly removes protection. Madam Chair, this forum was fought for and built politically and they can be weakened politically. The UN is not in a budget crisis, it is in a protection crisis. We should be in full protection mode, defend the human rights pillar, stand behind this forum and the wider Indigenous architecture and understand unequivocally the systemic assessment Language which may sound constructive on paper becomes dangerous in the times of UN80Oromote. I thank you.
I thank the representative of Samir Alifuro. Now I call upon the representative of the Inuit Circumpolar council seated in nameplate 96. Indigenous People's Organization. And Innate Circumpolar Council seated in 96.
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Hello. Oh, thank you, Madam Chair. We congratulate our fellow Inu Alukkiki Kotia on the reappointment as Chair of the Permanent Forum.
Bichlorid.
We thank the UN and the Permanent Forum on an excellent opening session. We are inspired by all Indigenous women leaders who paved the way for all of us esteemed forum members. Inuit Circumpolar Council wishes to follow up on our intervention last year where we spoke about the plans for convening the first Inuit Women's Summit. The Summit was held in Sisimiut, galatli nonad in October 2025. Here, 42 women Inuit women met in person and developed recommendations gathered in the Inuit Women's Summit Declaration, an advocacy tool for anyone wanting to promote the rights of Indigenous women and girls. Formulated through the wisdom and knowledge of the Inuit practitioners gathering in Sisimut, the summit offered closed and safe space for Inuit women to share and included dialogues on the themes of Indigenous women's rights frameworks, tools and strategies violence, protection and safety for Inuit women, children and gender diverse individuals. Advancing knowledge on colonial obstetric violence. We invite all to read our Inuit Women's Summit Declaration. We declare and assert the urgent need for basic public safety services across Inuit Nonad and the unacceptable conditions in our communities. Everyone deserves to feel welcome and safe in their communities. Safe and free from domestic violence, substance abuse, sexual abuse and violent crimes. Safe communities mean healthy communities and healthy communities serve as the foundation for a thriving Inuit society. We warmly welcome the work by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples on a report on a historical and contemporary forms of of violations against Indigenous women and girls, reproductive health and rights. A continued focus on obstetric violence against indigenous women and girls is necessary. We recommend that the permanent forum follows up on the report next year in the format of a closed meeting for Indigenous women to share experiences and point to needed actions In Galatli Dunnad. We continue to learn about the IUD program led by the Danish state from the 1960s to 1972 where at least 1 5,737 women and girls, over half of those of childbearing age, were fitted with IUDs, many as minors. ICC calls on the State of Denmark to reopen the portal for submission of testimonies and to initiate a thorough state led process to uncover all injustices and to end all systemic discrimination. The important step taken last fall when the governments of Denmark and Galatlit Nonad issued formal apologies for the IUD program must be followed by systemic change and concrete measures to address both individual and collective harms. I thank the representative of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. I now call upon the Representative of Lien Nip, seated in nameplate 60 Indigenous Peoples Organizations. Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving me the floor. Thank you. I would like to respond to the statement by the representative of the International Fund of Russia who called the majority of indigenous people as mentally ill. This isn't just an insult. This is pathological condescension which being voiced publicly at the UN creates collective trauma. A former expert of the permanent form insulted an untold number of indigenous peoples whose lives, cultures and ways of thinking have been put forward as here as inferior. And the very language of calling these communities mentally ill is an act of psychological violence that attempts to discredit entire cultures and peoples. Those who defend that statement, I would tell them you might be mistaken because you're not familiar with the situation from the inside. For many years, this man has been turning the protection of indigenous rights into a family. Business. NGOs as well as business entities were created and various relatives of his were appointed to lead those organizations. All the money flows from Russia and from abroad were concentrated within this one family. And prosecutions for freedom of speech, that is a lie. Indigenous communities demanded accountability for the funds that were allocated to their development preservation. That money was essentially stolen through complicated schemes and machinations, the beneficiary of which was Pavel Vasilevich himself. His public disdain for these unintelligent limited communities was a direct response to their demand for transparency. And the persecution that he supposedly suffers from is not because of his political statements. The real reason for it is economic. He's being prosecuted for robbing these communities, for failing to provide accountability, as well as in connection with a number of lawsuits. Funds that were meant to reach specific people, specific elders, specific child, were through front organizations transferred to phantom projects or simply appropriated. What we're seeing is classic manipulation. Someone attempting to present themselves as a victim of political repressions, Allegedly being prosecuted at home and persecuted at home, where in fact this person is guilty of economic crimes. Thank you. I thank the representative of Lien Nip. I now call upon the representative of AFPAT seated in nameplate 107 Indigenous Peoples Organization. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And good morning everyone. Firstly, allow me also to congratulate you for your re election. And also congratulate all the new members and all members of the forum that are there, especially MRIP. As you know in chat, last year we have 43 peoples that lost their lives. They got killed, their bodies have been burned. In addition, the violence against indigenous peoples is so often and especially in the Sahel regions. It's happening in every single day. Access to the land, access to the water, becoming the big challenge in a daily life for women and man. And of course children. Life are getting lost on that. For our organization and all the Bororo peoples around the Sahel, it is very important. Years as we are having the international years of rangeland and pastoralists. We are calling to the permanent forum to focus on the pastoralist life lifelihood. Pastoralists not as victim as solutions but also pastoralist lives matter. Our land and territories are the most productive one who are protecting the biodiversity and the climate. We request the permanent forum to put in strong recommendations to the international years of Runjalan and pastoralists to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, particularly the right of pastoralists and to recognize the contributions that we are acting on it. We are calling on the member state to work with all the communities together to end this genocide. Because it's becoming a genocide where the peoples are getting killed, even the babies. To store a dialogue between the communities in an equal footing where we can discuss and find and share the resources all together. The recent problems in the south of Cameroon is crossing the border even to Chad, to Central African Republic and to all the regions. We request a transboundary long term solutions that can sustain the life of the indigenous peoples pastoral communities across all these Sahel regions. Madam Chair, we hoping that next year will be focused on the pastoralist life and livelihood to allow us discuss further in this one. And I thank you. I thank the representative of afco. I now call upon the representative of Chile.
Madam Chair, distinguished delegates, members of indigenous peoples, representatives of the UN system. It is an honour to address you representing the national cooperation of indigenous development to share the crucial areas of our work and the priorities of our president. Caste in terms of the indigenous peoples of Chile, with particular emphasis being placed on the rights of indigenous women and girls. We focus on the principle of equality and non discrimination. First and foremost. That involves recognizing the diversity of indigenous peoples and also narrowing the gaps which have a differentiated impact on indigenous women compared to others. They are the group that suffers the greatest poverty. We are moving towards substantive equality taking the form of real opportunities and not simply tokenistic action. A key thrust of our work is strengthening economic autonomy through entrepreneurship training programs and productive support programs. We're seeking to build capacity of indigenous women promoting their economic independence and their participation in the development of their lands. We recognize that autonomy is also a key tool for the prevention of social vulnerabilities and violence. In terms of political and public participation. We are promoting leadership training for indigenous peoples, particularly for indigenous women, in order to strengthen their presence in decision making. Fora our challenge is bolstering existing participation mechanisms that today are not a hindrance for effective participation, but they need to be improved. We elected eight Indigenous representatives to the National Council for Indigenous Development. 57% of the electors there were women and many of the leading figures on that board are now women in education, health, land and natural resources. Our commitment is to strengthening the identities of indigenous peoples. This through revitalising indigenous language, recognising indigenous knowledge and adopting an intercultural approach to public policies, an approach which values diversity as a pillar of development in these fields. Our work is designed to improve processes, making them more transparent and effective, in addition to guaranteeing the effective participation of communities in the development of the lands that they inhabit, particularly getting indigenous women more involved. Our vision is clear. We're moving towards a state which recognizes, respects and fully promotes the development of indigenous peoples, with particular emphasis being paid to indigenous women and girls as pioneers of their own futures. We reaffirm our commitment to to continuing to work alongside indigenous peoples in an ongoing dialogue to build a fairer, more inclusive future and one which respects cultural diversity. Thank you.
I thank the representative of Chile. I now call upon the representative of the ilo.
A very good morning, Chair. Given that this is the first time we're taking the floor, we wish to congratulate you on your election and wish all members of the forum a successful session. Moreover, we wish to greet the Special Rapporteur and the Chair of mrip and we hope to continue our joint work and our joint commitment. The ILO is fully committed to making progress with the rights and well being of indigenous peoples across the world. This by promoting the ratification and effective implementation on the Convention on Indigenous and tribal peoples. Number 69 Chair September 2024 the executive board of the ILO classified that convention as a key instrument and called for efforts to be stepped up to provide technical support to Member States who wish to explore ratifying that convention. Moreover, we encouraged countries that continue to be bound by conventions, another convention now obsolete, to ratify this new convention. 169 Moving to the future the ILO has its expert commission and it will prepare a general study in 2027 to examine how convention number 169 this new convention is being implemented both in Member States that ratified it and in those that have not yet done so. That will help us to identify options obstacles to its ratification and to support efforts to overcome these obstacles. Convention number 169 is the only international treaty open for ratification which focuses specifically on individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples. It remains a fundamental pillar for their protection and their effective enjoyment and implementation in legislation and practice. In its most recent session, the Expert commission examined progress in various Latin American and African countries, providing guidance to strengthen the Convention's implementation. Progress has been made in countries that ratified the Convention. However, this progress remains uneven and gaps remain. I wish to point to two areas where additional efforts are required. One, the establishment of legal and institutional frameworks which are effective in terms of consultation and participation and 2 support for Indigenous people so that they can strengthen their own institutions, including through promoting the leadership of indigenous women. Madam Chair, the creation of enabling environments for dialogue, trust building and joint progress with this agenda remains vital. The ILO is ready to support governments and indigenous peoples as well as employer and worker organisations in promoting the ratification and effective implementation of this Convention as a framework for governance, human rights and sustainable development. Thank you.
I thank the representative of the ilo. I now call upon the representative of the Asia Indigenous Peoples pact seated in nameplate 49 Indigenous Peoples Organization. My name is Yamashiro from Ryukyu, Okinawa. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm speaking on behalf of Network of Indigenous Women in Asia. NIWA welcomes the engagement with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in mrep. We recognize their complementary mandates in advancing the implementation of the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We underlined that the mandate of Permanent forum must be strengthened through a gender responsive approach that fully integrates the rights and realities of indigenous women, including indigenous women with disabilities and indigenous person of diverse gender identities as well as girls. As we review progress on CEROGR 39, we highlight persistent and intersecting forms of discrimination faced by indigenous women in Asia, particularly those with disabilities and those from gender diverse communities, including legal invisibility, exclusion from governance and barriers to land, justice, education and health. In this regard, NEWA offers the following key points. We urge the Forum to systematically integrate GR39 into its advice to ECOSOC and UN agencies, ensuring that indigenous women's rights are mainstreamed across all thematic areas including land, climate and development. We call MRIP to provide targeted technical guidance to states on implementing GR39 in alignment with UN declaration, including support for legal recognition of indigenous peoples and gender and disability responsive law and policy reforms that respect diverse gender identities. We stress. We stress that engagement with Special Rapporteur and MRIP must ensure the meaningful, safe and direct participation of indigenous women, including women with disability gender diverse identities. We call for increased direct funding and institutional support for indigenous women led organization to enable their sustained engagement with UN mechanisms and national implementation processes. We encourage stronger collaboration with Permanent Forum, MRIP and CETL to develop joint indicator and monitoring frameworks that tracks compliance with both UN declaration and GR 39. Finally, we urge State to engage in genuine human rights dialogue with indigenous women in all their diversity, recognizing them not only as stakeholders holders but as rights holders and leaders. The effectiveness of Parmen Foreman MREP will ultimately be measured by extent to which indigenous women's rights are realized in practice. I thank you. I thank the representative of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact. I now call upon the representative of Youth with a Mission association seated in nameplates 78 Indigenous People's Organization.
Thank you very much. Madam Chair. My name is Kikabile Mohodu representing the Indigenous Peoples Network of Southern Africa. Speaking from a Botswana perspective. With the solidarity of Southern African IPs, we wish to congratulate the UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Albert Barume for completing his mission to Botswana. It was an important milestone that set our indigenous people in Botswana on a journey of transformation. In partnership with His Excellency President Gideon Boko, we wish to congratulate His Excellency President Boko with his recent accepting the appointment of the role as the human rights champion on behalf of the African Union. We further congratulate him for the steps and commitment towards a transformative initiative dedicated to empower the indigenous communities of Botswana through Kwena Empowerment Program. We stand ready to meaningfully partner with him to ensure a better life for our people. The context of conflict for our communities is both historical and ongoing. For certain communities, long standing marginalization, loss of access to ancestral land and socioeconomic exclusion have had lasting impacts on their well being. For the Namma Kwe, the legacy of the German Nanma genocide led to the displacement of from ancestral lands, disrupting traditional system of living and weakening cultural structures. These histories continue to shape present day health outcomes. Today, many indigenous communities in Botswana live in remote areas with limited access to health care services, clean water and sustainable livelihoods. These conditions contribute to food insecurity, malnutrition and increased vulnerability to diseases. We must also recognize cultural and linguistic erosion as a critical dimension of health. Indigenous languages, including various languages and Namagua are under threat. The loss of language is not only cultural, it affects identity, mental well being and the transmission of traditional knowledge systems. To effectively address indigenous health, it is essential to ensure meaningful participation by involving indigenous peoples as equal partners in decision affecting their well being. There must also be recognition of indigenous knowledge system, including traditional medicine and environmental stewardship practiced by Sen and Nama communities. In addition, integrated approaches are needed to address broader social detrimental determinants such as land access, water and security. We therefore recommend recognition of ancestral lands, way of life and recognition as a cultural people. Recognition of indigenous languages, community Based natural resource management should benefit communities. Inclusion of indigenous peoples priorities in the National Biodiversity Action Plan. In preparation for the upcoming CBD cop, our indigenous women and children need particular support. Madam Chair. Mitigating the impacts of climate change. In conclusion and in closing, Improving indigenous health requests Addressing both historical injustice and current inequalities while placing indigenous people in the center of solution. I thank you, Madam Chair.
I thank the representative of youth with a mission association. The next representative I will call is BC Native Women's Association. And I know there's no microphone, so if you can make your way down to the reserved area. Now I will call the representative of Stitching Molukot seated in nameplate 32. Indigenous Peoples Organization. Please press brother button.
Not working. Oh, hello. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Greetings to the Hon. Rapporteur, members of expert mechanism and fellow indigenous representatives. We speak today as members of the Guiana people through the Mulakot foundation and in solidarity with all indigenous people of Suriname. We are here not only to report but to open a dialogue. So let me ask this question in general. Is General Recommendation number 39 reflected in our daily lives? For us, the answer is clear. Our rivers are polluted, our lands are taken into our without our consent and our voices are pushed aside. But most importantly, Suriname does not recognize the rights of indigenous people in its constitution. That denial leaves us vulnerable and it fuels violence. Indigenous defenders have been threatened, attacked and even killed in our country trying to protect their territories. General Recommendation number 39 calls on State to recognize indigenous women and girls as right holders to protect them from violence and killings, to guarantee free prior and informed consent and to assure their full participation. Recent research in the Guyana territory has revealed severe damage to water and soil quality. Mercury contamination from upstream gold mining, together with deforestation and sustainable unsustainable use of land has entered our rivers and soil. This environmental violence is a form of conflict. It is not carried out with weapons, but through extractive economies that ignore indigenous rights and that threatens our survival. Suriname has accepted these obligations under cedaw, yet it continues to fall short. Our call is urgent. One, recognize indigenous people as right holders. Two. Guarantee free prior and informed consent. Third, protect defenders from violence and impunity, but also invest in indigenous led monitoring of forests and water. We call on this forum to affirm that environmental integrity and land rights are fundamental to indigenous health and that conflict also includes the silent war between rage against our ecosystems. Thank you very much.
I thank the representative of Stichting Moolo Kot. I now call upon the representative of the BC Native Women's Association Seat number five for the Bc Native Women's Association. I'm one of the elder knowledge holders. Our women hold a sacred role as life givers and the international trauma and ongoing trauma is compounded each day with more losses in our families and our communities as life givers. Much of our work is focused on healing for our families, our children and our communities. We're here to remind the state governments today that the colonial systems that 63% of indigenous women experience violence and nearly half 46% have experienced sexual assault and 81% of indigenous women who have been in the child welfare system have been physically and sexually assaulted in their life. This needs to change and that's why we're here to share our lived experiences and collective knowledge and support for change. And this is critical work was impacted by the April 26 Canadian federal government ended key funding for missing murdered Indigenous women girls and the two SLGBTQIA plus organizations and programs. This disruption essentially impacts the advocacy and support for services as lost funds is an act of human rights regression. The short term projects and funding base undermine the efforts to combat the ongoing crisis which constitutes genocide in our country. We acknowledge the federal government was criticized by the UN for the limited substantive progress in implementing the 231 calls for justice and advocates are calling for the long term sustained funding rather than temporary measures. And as our country Canada is prioritizing rapid resource development, the legislation directly threatens our Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protection and safety and specifically increase the risks associated with man camps and missing murdered Indigenous women and girls in two spirit. And we want to acknowledge also that the funding was cut for the Redress alert system which is similar to California's White Feather alert system and we call upon that funding to be reinstated as it we it's really critical that the Redress alert system be implemented as recommended for the redress alert system in our country. It's long overdue and the Indigenous women account for 24% of all female homicides despite making up only 5% of our country's female population. Indigenous women are also 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than non Indigenous women in Canada. Many Indigenous families do not have the capacity, resources or access to search and rescue networks to support them in their efforts. When loved ones go missing or are murdered, families often rely on our grassroots initiatives and advocates for organizations for support to develop and localized networks or outreach systems. I thank the representative of the B.C. native Women's Association. I now call upon the representative of the Indigenous Peoples Organization of Australia seated in nameplate 33 Indigenous Peoples Organization.
Thank you, Madam. My name is BJ Crews, Chairman of the Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council of New South Wales, Australia. I come here today not just as a representative of my community, but as someone who has personally experienced the brutality of Australia's assimilation policies. For much of the 20th century, Australian governments implemented policies of forced assimilation. These policies aimed to erase our culture identity and observe Aboriginal children in the white society. Aboriginal children were subject to treatment that intended to break our spirits and to serve white society as domestic workers or placement within white homes. When I was five years old, I was placed in a segregated ward. The nurses dressed me in a makeshift gown made from an empty cook and flour sack. Stenciled on the front and back were the letters abba, a label used to mark Aboriginal people as something less inhuman. I was forced to follow the nurses while holding onto the strings of her apron. If I failed to turn at the same time she did, one of the strings would pull loose and I would be slapped on the corresponding side of the face. If the nurses stop suddenly, I run into the back of her and I would be slapped again. If she walked too fast, both strings would come loose and I would be slapped on both sides of the face. When not following the nurses, I was made to kneel upright on my bed with a stack of books balanced on my head. Today in Australia, laws provides for up to 10 years imprisonment for acts of child cruelty. Yet governments never been held accountable for the institutional cruelty inflicted upon Aboriginal children under assimilation policies. These practices were not isolated incidents. They were part of a broader system designed to erase our identity and dignity as Indigenous people. This is why the international community adopted the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People which reaffirms our rights to dignity, culture, identity and freedom from discrimination. I respectfully call upon the Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues to advise the Government of Australia to properly acknowledge and redress institutionalised cruelty inflicted upon Aboriginal children, ensure truth telling processes, fully document these abuses and establish mechanisms for justice and healing.
I thank the representative of the Indigenous Peoples Organization of Australia. I now call upon the representative of Support center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the north seated in nameplate 19 Indigenous peoples organization.
Thank you Madam Chair and our congratulations with your election as the Chair of the Permanent Forum. I am speaking in my capacity as a co Chair on behalf of the International Indigenous People Forum on the World Heritage. A global platform for Indigenous Peoples engaging with UNESCO World Heritage Convention Implementation the forum is led by a steering committee composed seven members representing seven social cultural regions in 2024 the forum organized a workshop on recognizing and respecting indigenous peoples heritage values in the World Heritage sites which took place in Geneva with strong representation of indigenous peoples, UNESCO, the advisory bodies of the World Heritage Convention, as well as the Permanent Forum, MRIP and the Special Rapporteur. The outcome document of the workshop responds to the many concerns expressed by indigenous peoples about the lack of respect of indigenous people's cultural heritage values in many World Heritage sites. Most World Heritage sites in indigenous peoples territories are classified as purely natural sites. Without recognizing indigenous peoples cultural values and relation to the land. It has in many cases undermined indigenous peoples customer rights to their ancestral lands, their livelihoods and the protection of their cultural heritage. It is also a main reason for the exclusion of indigenous peoples from the World Heritage processes and for the human rights violations against indigenous peoples in many sites. To address this concern, the World Heritage Committee at the last session in 2025 last year in Paris, adopted a decision requesting the World Heritage center to work together with indigenous peoples to identify ways to better reflect their heritage values in the outstanding universal value of sites and enhance indigenous people participation under the Convention. Therefore, the Indigenous People Forum as a World Heritage would like to recommend the first, that the Permanent Forum express its intention to UNESCO to contribute to this process and participate in the incoming 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in South Korea, Busan. Secondly, that the Permanent Forum and Special Rapporteur contribute to the annual panel discussion of the Human Rights Council in September Geneva on the topic of Indigenous people rights and engagement in the concept of the World Heritage Convention. I thank you.
I thank the representative of the center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North. I now call upon the Representative of Organization OPPB seated in nameplate 82 Indigenous Peoples Organization.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Brothers and sisters of Indigenous People, My name is Tengku Fajri Krong representing the Aceh Sumatra. I speak today under this year theme Indigenous Health in the context of Conflict. For us in Aceh Sumatra, this is not a discussion. This is our daily reality. The current removal of JKA by the government in Indonesia to our region, which is our regional health support for the indigenous people has left many families without access to the basic health care. Mothers cannot afford treatment, children are left without care. Illness is no longer just a health issue. It has become a question of survival. At the same time, at the end of last year, devastating flood made worse by deforestations by Indonesia governments in our region took the life of so many our people in Aceh, entire communities were destroyed as massive mudslide came from mountain buried their thousand of homes. Families lost everything and what did the Indonesian government do? Nothing. Many were left without sufficient food, without shelter and without protection. As we were delivering aid to these people, the Indonesian military waited along the street to block the assistance we were sending. They beat some people fainted and others suffered head injuries with bleeding wounds from the beating. When people are left without health care, without land security and without support in in time of disaster, their health collapses not only physically but emotionally and spiritually. This is why we said health cannot exist without dignity and dignity cannot exist without self determination. The right to self determination is recognized is under United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous People. It affirm that indigenous people has the right to determine their own future. For Aceh and West Papua this is not politics, it is a survival. We respectfully call on the United nations and Member States to listen to our voice and our people ensure that humanitarian protection reach the indigenous community without delays and support pathway that allow our people to freely determine our own future so we can protect our
I thank the representative of oppb. I now call upon the I will be calling next the first nations with Schools collective if you can make your way down to the reserved seats. I now call upon the representative of Instituto Memoria Usiencia Indigena IMCI seated in nameplate 703 Indigenous Peoples Organization. Representative for Instituto Memoria Eciencia Indigena can you put your hand up and press the button? I'm now going to call upon the representative of Nation of Hawaii seated in nameplate 42 Indigenous Peoples Organization
Aloha Madam Chair Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples NRIP members and all delegations reground our position in U.S. public Law 103150 which acknowledges the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and affirms that our Hawaiian national sovereignty was never relinquished. Almost 33 years later, Hawaii remains unaddressed within formal United nations processes as an active case of unresolved decolonization. Since our last engagement with the UNPFII in 2023, the nation of Hawaii continues to operate as an independent indigenous sovereign government. At our sovereign land based Pu' Uhonua o Waimanalo, the Nation of Hawaii engages in Ahupua based restoration through Aina days where community members help with restoring ancient Lo' I Taro patch and agroforestry and collaboration with Go Farm Hawaii and other organizations to strengthen local food systems. This work restores our relationship to land, water and one another. Through our own systems of stewardship, we are advancing local economic development through community markets and makeke on our sovereign lands, restoring Indigenous systems of exchange grounded in reciprocity and aloha. In parallel, we continue to build international relationships with other Indigenous nations through diplomacy and peace and friendship treaties and also with governments and businesses in Southeast Asia. At the same time, we are building Indigenous controlled systems that support our government and economy, ensuring that sovereignty extends into the digital environments shaping our futures. The systems are not separate. They are a continuation of how we have always governed. The fires in Lahaina, recent Kona, low storm flooding events and ongoing environmental and climate pressures continue to expose the limitations of state systems to protect our peoples land and water resources. These are not isolated events. They reflect systemic vulnerability where Indigenous governance has been displaced. What we are witnessing is not only environmental change but the result of long term disruption to our land, water, culture and ways of knowing what we are witnessing. Our question for the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and NRIP Members are what pathways exist within your mandates to formally engage with Indigenous sovereign governments such as the Nation of Hawaii in cases where our sovereignty is acknowledged yet unresolved due to the failure of our Member State to engage in formal Hawaiian sovereignty resolution negotiations and how can we initiate a direct dialogue, responsive reporting and or a visit to Hawaii by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the NREP Mahalo Nui
I thank the representative of the Nation of Hawaii. I now call upon the representative of first nations with Schools Collective seated in seat 637. Thank you Madam Chair. I make this statement on behalf of the first nations with Schools Collective, an alliance of first nations advancing education equity for First Nation children living on reserve in Canada through self determination and the affirmation of inherent rights. We welcome this dialogue with a Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism and we support the annual review of progress on CEDAW general recommendation number 39. From our perspective, education equity for Indigenous children cannot exist without jurisdiction. General Recommendation 39, read alongside the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms that Indigenous women, girls and children hold rights that are both individual and collective. Our collective is advancing jurisdiction pathways that enable First Nation designed and First Nation led governance and funding models ensuring full control over education for our citizens. UNDRIP articles 14 and 15 guarantee indigenous peoples the right to establish and control their own education systems in their languages, cultures and knowledge systems Systems. General Recommendation 39 confirms that fulfilling this right is inseparable from fulfilling the right to education for Indigenous women and girls. The first nations with School Collective has completed a funding model that operationalizes these obligations together. What remains is a partner state willing to negotiate its implementation. In Canada. We continue to seek recognition of inherent jurisdiction over education as affirmed under section 35 of Canada's Constitution Institution. This challenge is shared globally. Indigenous children's rights remain at risk wherever education is treated as a short term program rather than a rights based structural responsibility. In response, our collective has developed a lifelong learning funding model with healing at its center. One that keeps children's mental, spiritual, physical and emotional well being our heart ways whole and recognizes that identity is the foundation of a good life. Anishinaabe Adzoin Education is not simply instruction. It is the intergenerational transmission of identity, responsibility and belonging. We therefore offer two recommendations to Member States. First, dismantle colonial legislation and replace it with relationship based agreements that uphold inherent rights. Second, fully implement UNDRIP and UNDRIP legislation by establishing mechanisms that enable authentic nation to nation relationships, particularly in education. Madam Chair Equity follows self determination. When Indigenous peoples govern education, children thrive. Miigwech thank you. Merci. I thank the representative of the first nations with Schools Collective. I now call upon the representative representative of the International Disability alliance seated in seat 25.
Senora Precienta, madam Chair, distinguished members of the Permanent Forum, representatives of States, Brothers Sisters one and all, allow me to extend to you the brotherly greetings of the Global network of Indigenous Peoples with Disabilities. As we review progress made in the implementation of General Recommendation 39. We wish to speak out to lend visibility to historic debt which has yet to be repaid, that is the systematic exclusion of Indigenous women with disabilities. This exclusion is seen particularly acutely in terms of access to sexual and reproductive health. We continue there to face linguistic, geographical, cultural and aptitudinal barriers. Talking about menstruation in our communities continues to be an issue shrouded rather in stigma, misinformation and a lack of access to dignified information. That situation is worsened yet further still when you have a disability. Moreover, legal capacity is denied for people with disabilities and that limits our abilities to take decisions about our own bodies, to form a family and to fully exercise our autonomy. Moreover, we're excluded from access to decent work and from sustainable livelihoods. There's also a lack of specific indicators which would allow us to measure real progress in terms of our inclusion. Without data there can be no effects. Effective public policy. Without participation, there can be no real democracy. In view of that reality, we have four urgent and transformative recommendations for your consideration. 1. Guaranteeing universal access to culturally relevant, accessible and violence free sexual and reproductive health services. This needs to include dignified and adapted menstrual education and information available in accessible formats in indigenous languages. Second, guaranteeing the full recognition of legal capacity of indigenous women with disabilities. There can be no conservatorship practices remaining and no one can replace indigenous women with disabilities when it comes to taking their own decisions. And there needs to be support systems that respect their will and preferences. We need to implement policies for inclusive employment which recognise persons with disabilities and their skills, which promote their economic empowerment and which eliminate structural barriers that hinder their access to decent work. There needs to be disaggregated data collection systems that include indicators that are specific to indigenous women with disabilities. This will guarantee their direct participation in developing, monitoring and evaluating all of these policies and will guarantee that they can be effectively included in decision making fora at all levels. Implementing these recommendations is not only a human rights issue, rather it's a strategic opportunity for sustainable development. Many international studies, including reports from the World bank, have indicated that excluding persons with disabilities from economic development. The microphone has been cut off.
Representative of the International Disability Alliance, I now call upon the representation representative of Mages of the Crimean Tatar people seated in the reserve seating. Please put your hand up and press the button.
I express my gratitude to the Member States for supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russia's war crimes. It is very important to pay attention to the situation of indigenous peoples in the context of the interstate conflict. The Kremlin Tatar people have become a minority in their own homeland as a result of a deliberate policy of genocide following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 1783. The occupation of Crimea in 2014 thus constituted a violation of Article 1, 3 and 7 of the Declaration. Regrettably, I am compelled to note that progress in implementing recommendation 39 remains extremely limited, particularly under the condition of Russia's occupation of Crimea. As of today, 351 people are being held in Phase B prisons. 180 of them are representatives of the indigenous Kremlin Tatar people. Among them are 54 women, including 10 elderly women, their oldest being 71 years old, and 13 young women. The youngest among them, Nisibe saiedova, is just 19 years old old and had only recently got married. This services an example of how the occupying authorities impact the reproductive health of indigenous women. These women face charges of high treason, espionage, terrorism. We call for increased international attention for the plight of indigenous women in the context of interstate conflict. We released all political prisoners from detention, ensuring their protection of women, human Rights defenders and activists from persecution support for initiatives aimed of expanding the participation of indigenous women of political and civic process Then implementation of recommendation 39 is impossible without the genuine, safe and equal participation of women for indigenous peoples. This is matter of justice, dignity and a sustainable future. Thank you for your attention.
I thank the representative of the Magis of the Crimean Tatar people. I now call upon the Chitticon Hill Tribe Indigenous Peoples Council of Canada seated in nameplate 24 Indigenous peoples organization.
Thank you Honorable Madam Chair giving me the floor. It's very notable that indigenous right have been outlined in the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Every indigenous community in this universe should be all dashed right Indigenous living as human beings with dignity and respect in 97 Chlorot or Chittagong Hill trails across the Tasmania they are indigenous Jumma people in the Chitticong Hill trucks Bangladesh who deserved rights their ethnic background but it is unfortunate that previous Bangladesh government not fulfilled in the aspiration of the indigenous Jumma people with their daily delaying tactiles of full implement of the accord. Instead of privileging the indigenous Jomo people with their rise, all governments who ruled the country in the past took the stance against the Jumo people suspension at this time their attitudes is the committing human rights violation and non implementation of the accord. The actor on behalf of the government is the Bangladesh military. Some example could be criticized as the firstly, as per the CSC accord the probation the Chittagong Hill tracks should be to tribal inhabit region. It is the interesting that CST is no more the tribe inhabitant region because more than 400,000 settlers were taken by government and settled them there. Now there is continuation of sitting Bengalis from plain district of Rohingya is a refugee and a result the Jummah Bengali radiation stand 48 to 52. Second, the PCJSS signatory of the accord published a report on the human rights violation that took place in the CST in 2025 and there 268 include of our which 193 were commit by the Bangladesh military. The indigenous women who are the venerable in country in the world have the counted 26 incidence, rape, milestone and harassment in the CST. In the report
I thank the representative of the Chittagon Hill tribe's Indigenous Peoples Council of Canada. I now call upon the representative of association national des Exchange intrigion seated in nameplate 101 Indigenous Peoples Organization. I now call upon the representative of Mujeres Indigenas Tejedoras de Guatemala seated in nameplate 37 Indigenous Peoples Organization.
We Madam Chair commend you on your appointment. Congratulations to you, Rapporteur. Special Rapporteur. We value this space for dialogue and we wish to point to the fact that we as indigenous women girls have historically waged a great struggle for the enjoyment of our comprehensive rights. One such right is the right of indigenous women to participate in politics, to access health. In terms of we as indigenous grandmothers, we have had four historic gains. A historic ruling was handed down by the Constitutional Court in favour of us as birthing attendant grandmothers. There are two laws that issue decrees which declared the national day of grandmother midwives and that's the 19th of May, and there was a stimulus established in connection with that. The comprehensive health system has also been recognized and that means that our contribution as midwifing indigenous grandmothers has been incorporated into the health system and duly recognized. There is the National Midwifery Policy which entered into Force in 2015. That is the policy for traditional birth attendance. The government of Guatemala does have an agenda and says in favor of indigenous peoples and speaks out in favor of them. But in practice, the action of the states remains weak in terms of harmonizing the formal health system and the indigenous health system. There are structural institutional gaps which prevent indigenous women from accessing not only reproductive health services that are adequate, dignified and which respect their cosmovision. That's one thing. And that has an impact across the life cycle on them. And it also has an impact on the work of these indigenous birthing attendants. But they also fail to access justice services. We are still the victims of reprisals and persecution as traditional birthing attendants. We have intergenerational organizations of indigenous women. And as these organizations, we're urging the forum mechanisms and all states members of the forum to reiterate their recommendation to the State of Guatemala to guarantee the right to sexual and reproductive health, which is culturally relevant. This must be enjoyed by indigenous women. You must reiterate the rights of these traditional birthing attendant grandmothers. And these people must be consulted properly and must be given proper redress when rights are infringed. Thank you.
I thank the representative of the Mujeres indigenous Tejadores de Guatemala. I now call upon the representative of AIM west, seated in nameplate 39 Indigenous People's Organization.
My name is Jean Whitehorse. I'm a Navajo, a daughter of a Navajo coat talker who used the unbreakable coat that was vital to the United States victory over Japan in World War II.
I am sharing my story today to show that this is far more than
just a legislative text. Personal stories like mine continue to happen to countless families. I'm a survivor of the government boarding school relocation program. I am a victim of the US
Government Native women sterilization program.
Sterilization was a reality for thousands of Native American women in 1960 and 1970. Many were subject to procedures without their informed consent through the Indian health service.
In 1972, I was admitted to Gallup
Indian Medical center for a ruptured appendix. I was in extreme pain, required to sign forms before surgery.
I wanted more children.
Only to learn later discovered that I'd been sterilized without my knowledge or consent. Years later, my grandma grandmother wanted ask why I only had one daughter. She told me her Navajo name was Many Children. This is when I realized I was meant to have large family. I never told her that I could
no longer have children.
There is no Navajo term for sterilization
in our cultural True wealth is our children.
They are the guardian of our heritage. When Native women were sterilized, it was not only an individual loss, it was a loss of generation. This is not only a personal tragedy,
it's a grave violation of the rights
of health to health, bodily autonomy and informed consent under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. These actions constitute crimes against humanity under
the Rome Statute in many cases may
rise to genocide through prevention of birth within the Indigenous community. Globally, thousands of Indigenous women from United States, Canada to Peru and beyond have been affected. Yet a full scope remains undocumented.
These violations continue to be present in the present decade.
There are signs of progress. February 2026 the state of New Mexico passed a state Senate memorial 14 acknowledging
these abuse and calling for a pathway to justice. Therefore, I respect urgently the immediate.
I thank the representative of AIM West. I now call upon the representative representative of New South Wales Aboriginal land Council seated in 34 nameplate 34 Indigenous Peoples Organization
thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Diane Randall. I'm the Councillor for the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council. I pay my respects to elders and ancestors past and present and acknowledge the Indigenous equipment experts and participants gathered here today. I speak on behalf of the New South Wales Aboriginal land Council representing 121 Local Aboriginal Land Councils across New South Wales, Australia and the Australian Indigenous Caucus supports this intervention. The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council recommends that the member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues one call upon Member States to recognise that Indigenous Peoples health outcomes are linked to secure land rights, cultural continuity and self determination consistent with Article 3 and 4 and 2532 of the UNDRIP 2. Call upon the Government of Australia and the Government of New South Wales to withdraw the proposed Crown land Management Amendment Bill 2026 which risk restricting access to lands that may otherwise be subject to Aboriginal land claims and undermining one of the few existing mechanisms of land restitution under the aboriginal land rights framework. 3. Urge states to ensure that legislation, legislative and policy reforms affecting Indigenous lands, territories and resources are developed in genuine partnership with Indigenous people and with the application of free prior and informed consent. 4. Encourage Member States to strengthen investment and Indigenous community controlled organisation recognising their central role in in delivering cultural, grounded health, social and well being outcomes. Member Chair For Aboriginal people in Australia, health cannot be separated from land, culture and self determination. Country is not simply where we live, it is who we are. For Indigenous people, conflict is not experienced only through violence. It is also experienced experience through laws, policies and decisions that continue to take from us rather than work with us. In New South Wales this is happening right now. The State Government has introduced amendments to Crown Land legislation that would limit access to land otherwise claimable under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. These changes have been advanced without genuine partnership with Aboriginal peoples, despite their profound
I thank the representative of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council. I now call upon the representative of the Union of Indigenous Peoples, Soyuz, seated in Seat 93, Indigenous Peoples Organization
Madam Chair, I represent the Russian Indigenous Peoples Organization called Soyuz. As part of this interactive dialogue I would like to thank the UN Expert Mechanism on the rights of Indigenous Peoples for its very timely and relevant research on the topic of the right to data. The right to data, including its collection and disaggregation, is one of the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples, while data itself constitutes a cultural, strategic and economic resource. This theme is of great importance to the Indigenous peoples of Russia in the context of developing additional legal mechanisms for the protection of their traditional knowledge. Indigenous peoples possess unique traditional knowledge and practices developed through their close relationship with nature their traditional lands. The Indigenous peoples of Russia support the development of additional legal mechanisms for the protection of their traditional knowledge and they are of the view that such knowledge should be systematically integrated, among other things, into environmental protection processes and relevant decision making. This includes developing measures for the protection restoration of ecosystems as well as spatial land and water resource management and conducting environmental impact assessments. The Federal Law on the Intangible Ethno Cultural Heritage of the Russian Federation provides for a State register of intangible heritage objects and it is important that the traditional knowledge and practices of Indigenous peoples be more actively included in this register as something that is subject to protection and a key condition for this is ensuring the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples themselves at all stages. This research by the expert mechanism is also of particular relevance in the context of data disaggregation. We believe that for the purposes of providing targeted state support is important to establish effective mechanisms for the collection of disaggregated data to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples across all areas. In the Russian Federation, Indigenous peoples organizations have developed 80 locally relevant indicators in order to improve the collection of data on the socio economic and cultural situation of indigenous peoples. This system of indicators has been endorsed by the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs. It has been incorporated into the Federal Sustainable Development Policy for Indigenous Peoples and represents a significant step forward when it comes to indigenous people's rights. In this regard, we recommend that Permanent forum develop expert recommendations on the data sovereignty of Indigenous peoples and the ethical principles governing the use of such data. We also call on the Permanent Forum to develop a set of recommendations for capacity building for experts involved in the collection of desegregated data. Thank you very much. I thank the representative of Soyuz. I now call upon the representative of the World's Sindhi Congress seated in Seat 27, Indigenous Peoples Organization.
Hello. Is it on? Can I speak? Yeah. Thank you. Madam Chair. Words in the Congress submits that in the context of implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within Member States and UN system, recognizing and realizing the right to self determination for Sindhi nation represent a critical test for international human rights commitments for the Sindhi people at ancient nation with distinguished linguistic culture, cultural and historical identity rooted in Indus Valley self determination is not merely a political aspiration but existential necessity. Under Article 3 of UNDRIP, the right to self determination guarantees that people can freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social and cultural development. When applying the themes focus on addressing challenges, the Sindhi context highlights profound systematic hurdles. Despite Sindh being extremely rich in natural resources including natural gas, coal, agricultural wealth, the Sindhi people systematically face severe resource appropriation, poverty, environmental degradation and political marginalization. Acknowledging these inequalities inequalities is the first step to address the challenges outlined by un. Identifying good practices within the UN system means moving beyond rhetorical support to actively empowering historically sovereign people and communities. For Sindhi nation, securing the right to self determination is a paramount it is only structure mechanism that ensure that they can protect their historical lands, preserve their millennia old heritage and language and maintain democratic control over their natural wealth. Ultimately, the implementation of UND rip remains incomplete unless marginalized nations like Sindhis are afforded the autonomy, voice and international recognition required to protect their fundamental human rights and determine their own future. Thank you.
I thank the representative of the World Sindhi Congress. Next I will call a representative of the Amazon Watch and I ask you to come down to the reserved seats. Now I will call the representative of The Union of B.C. indian Chiefs seated in seat four. I raise my hands to the Permanent forum and thank all Homo all people of the Lands for your continued commitment to advancing the rights, health and well being of Indigenous peoples. I begin by affirming that the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples remains the minimum standard for our
dignity, survival and well being including our
inherent rights to self determination, bodily autonomy and to be free from discrimination and forced assimilation. This year's theme on Indigenous People's health cannot be meaningfully addressed without confronting the
ongoing and far reaching structural discrimination embedded
in colonial laws and policies in so called Canada. The Indian act turns 150 years old this year. This piece of racist and sexist legislation continues to directly harm the health and
well being of first nations, particularly of
women, girls and two SLGBTQIA peoples.
Its provisions have historically removed women and
children from our communities and continue to
restrict access to to essential services and
dictate who can be a parent with if and if we should wish to transmit status to our children. These policies of forced assimilation, blood quantum and denial of status fracture our families
and nations, extinguish our culture and create
lasting vulnerabilities which limit our access to
safety and contribute to the crisis that
of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2s peoples. Health for Indigenous Peoples is holistic. It is not only physical, it is
spiritual, cultural, emotional and relational. When laws divide our families, deny our
identities and control our bodies, they directly undermine our health and well being and for the future of our nation. Therefore, we urge Canada and other States to take immediate and meaningful action to eliminate all remaining sex and race based discrimination in the Indian act, ensure full access to health services and supports regardless of Indian status and all forms of coerced and forced sterilization, provide compensation and redress to women and their descendants and prevent systemic gender based violence against indigenous women, girls and 2s peoples. As affirmed in general recommendation number 39 states must address all forms of discrimination. I thank you all. I thank the representative of the Union of B Indian Chiefs. I now call upon the representative of Amazon Watch seated in seat 68 Indigenous Peoples Organization
honorables MI Embroider Distinguished members of the Permanent Forum Expert MECHANISM on THE RIGHTS OF Indigenous PEOPLES My name is Yakelino Dicio. I am a chair of the Federation of Kekataiwe Women. I come from a territory in which in recent years six leaders have been killed for defending our people. I've come to this forum to speak out with a collective voice and say that February this year we brought together indigenous organizations from Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru. At that meeting we spoke out against an urgent reality. The expansion of illicit economies, organized crime and the imposition of strategic extra extractive projects. All of these violate our rights. They create violence against our authorities that affects our health. Our health is affected as a result of pollution and our self governance systems are weakened. These projects also undermine our spirituality, our ways of life. Girls, boys and indigenous women are those most affected by recruitment, trafficking in persons and violence. We concluded at this meeting that self governance and territorial effective territorial control are the best tools we have to tackle this crisis. A crisis worsened by drug traff, mining and other destructive activities. Consequently, we propose first that this forum and the United nations recognize this crisis as a priority. They must analyze its impact and issue specific recommendations to states. Second, we demand that States cease violent interventions in our territories and that they respect our rights to free, prior and informed consent. 3. We demand full legal security over our lands, just market access and direct financing of our initiatives. Four, we affirm in clear terms that there can be no autonomy without the full participation of indigenous women. Five, we demand effective respect for our self determination and for our justice and security systems. There are protective mechanisms for indigenous defenders, but these need to be properly effective in order to put an end to impunity. The forum must include in its annual report our demand for real participation in design, implementation and evaluation of policies. Policies in terms of security and economy, more specifically on illegal economies rather locally, nationally and internationally. We need to ensure that there is the proper implementation of the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. Our agendas must be respected, our forms of self governance must be strengthened and there must be support for our initiatives without external models being imposed. Members of the Permanent Forum, We continue to harbor the hope that your mandate will continue to follow up on our demands.
Representative of Amazon Watch, I now call upon the representative of Tau kiuki seated in 76 indigenous peoples organization.
My name is Hinare Kolia. I come from the small but mighty
nation of Te Whakatohea and today I am representing Ngarangatahiyayui, the youth of the
indigenous nations of New Zealand. I take the floor with deep concern at the state of indigenous rights in Aotearoa New Zealand, where international commitments to the UN DRIP are not being implemented domestically. In recent years we have seen gross regressions in respect for indigenous rights in Aotearoa. Obligations grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Aotearoa's founding document, are increasingly being watered down directly, breaching rights affirmed under Articles 3, 25 and 26 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This weakening of the Teiriti o Waitangi is not obstruct. It has lived in persistent health inequities and in the disproportionate removal of our Tamariki from their whnau. It is seen in our education outcomes and in the cost of living that is driving WHNAU into poverty. In Aotearoa, these patterns echo histories we know too well, where decisions made without us at the table continue to disrupt Whakapapa identity and well being. At the same time, structural changes in the health system have had real and visible impacts. For some, the cost of seeking care, including hospital visits, is becoming increasingly difficult to meet. This reflects persistent inequities and raises serious concerns about the state's ability to uphold equitable health outcomes. For mori, these are not new problems. They are persistent and inequitable and they point to a broader pattern where indigenous voices are heard but not always reflected in final decisions. International mechanisms have been clear. The Expert Mechanism on the Right of Indigenous Peoples has emphasised that indigenous peoples must be active decision makers as right holders, not stakeholders. The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Human Rights Council have consistently called for the full and effective implementation of UN DRIP as a living standard. In this context, we look forward to a country visit by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to Aotearang, New Zealand, in conjunction with the expert mechanisms on the right of Indigenous. Such a visit would provide an independent evidence based assessment and support constructive dialogues on a path forward. Furthermore, I urge all state parties to actively engage across all programs of work advancing UN DRIP implementation consistently and in good faith as a shared global responsibility.
I thank the Representative Davutau Kiyuki. I now call upon the Representative of Indonesia,
Madam Chair. We thank the special reporter for his briefing. Allow me to take this opportunity to address the following first, the claim that Jamina Kesiahtan Aceh or acehealth Insurance Program has been removed is simply misleading and incorrect. It is being reformed and better targeted towards those most in need, particularly the poor, the vulnerable and patients with catastrophic illnesses. It is not a dismantlement but a necessary reform to improve the quality of health services. Second, Indonesia has undertaken a large scale, nationally coordinated response to severe floods affecting Aceh and surrounding areas. The facts on the ground tell the story of a government that responded with urgency and commitment. Over 50,000 personnel and extensive assets, including helicopters and aircrafts were mobilized to ensure rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance, healthcare and evacuation support. As recovery has progressed, the number of displaced persons have significantly decreased, with affected residents gradually returning home as basic services are restored. The situation has now transitioned from emergency response to recovery, guided by presidential instructions and presidential decree which establish a dedicated task force for rehabilitation and reconstruction. A comprehensive disaster recovery master plan is being finalized to ensure coordinated, resilient and inclusive recovery. Third, Indonesia remains open to constructive international cooperation while ensuring recovery efforts are nationally led, well coordinated and above all responsive to the needs of our people. We believe this forum is at its most valuable when it fosters honest and solution oriented dialogue and we would respectfully encourage all participants to uphold that standard. Indonesia welcomes constructive engagement on disaster resilience. While we remain open to dialogue, we must express our deep concern for the selective and politically motivated framing of a humanitarian situation, including with the situation in Papua, to advance a self determination agenda, an approach that is inconsistent with Article 46 of UNDRIP. In that spirit, we would like to request through you, Madam Chair, that our collective strength lies in constructive dialogue, mutual respect and solutions that truly serve the people and not the opposite. Thank you.
I thank the representative of Indonesia. I now call upon the representative of Crimean Tatar Resource center seated in seat 640. Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Lyudmila Karotki. I represent the indigenous Crimean Tata people of Ukraine. The human rights situation of the indigenous Crimean Tata people remains critical under occupation. According to monitoring of the Crimean Tata Resource Center, 277 representatives have been subjected to politically motivated persecution and 180 Crimean Tatars are currently deprived of liberty. Conditions of detention are inhuman. Detainees are transferred far from Crimea, denied medical care and subjected to pressure, torture and isolation system. MIKA violation includes a ban of the Majlis, suppression of culture and religious life, forced conscription and destruction of independent media. At the same time, an important positive development should be noted. On the 3rd of April, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine formalized the legal status of the Majlis as a representative institution of the indigenous Crimean Tatate people. In our submission to the Expert Mechanism, we highlighted that occupation creates compounded risk for indigenous peoples, including repressions, displacement, militarization, adoration of representative institutions, limited access to justice and fear of reprisals suggest that the real scale of violation is likely even higher than documented. We call for this information to be reflected in its study. We also highlight the ongoing work of the Special Rapporteur on the recognition of indigenous peoples land. Our Submission shows that despite legislative progress in Ukraine, gaps remain in demarcation, registration and collective land rights. These challenges worsened by occupation policies including unlawful re registration of land confiscation and discriminatory restrictions linked to imposed citizenship, creating long term obstacles to restitution. We urged inclusion of these findings in the report. Madam Chair, when representatives of the Russian Federation refer to sanctions of water and energy issue in Crimea, it is essential to recall the root cause the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. As an occupying power, Russia bears responsibility under international law, including the prohibition on playing its criminal legislation in occupied territory and persecuting protected persons. Finally, Australia Unaccability of Prosecution of Indigenous Human Rights defenders In December, Selkub activist Daria Yegoryev was arrested in the Russian Federation for defending indigenous rights. This must also be assessed in light of SIDAWF General Recommendation 39. We recommend strengthening international protection mechanisms including monitoring, accountability, participation in peace building and safeguards for representative institutions. We first emphasize the importance of ensuring full inclusion of indigenous peoples in decision making at all levels, including peace negotiations and post conflict recovery as the prior qualities for sustainable and just peace. Thank you. I thank the representative of the Crimean Tartar Resource Center. I now call upon the representative of Khmer's Kampuch seated in seat 99, Indigenous Peoples Organization. Thank you Madam Chair Madam Chair, Special Rapporteur, distinguished members of the expert mechanism and indigenous relatives. I speak on behalf of the Khmer's Campuche Federation representing the indigenous Khmer people of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. We wish to acknowledge the UN public statement issued on August 25, 2025 that expressed alarm over the ongoing repression of our peoples and Devara Buddhist monks in Vietnam. It affirmed the reality of what khmercron peoples face systemic harassment, criminalization, religious repression, unfair trials and disproportionate punishment for our indigenous advocacy. Despite the publication of the August 2025 UN expert statement which noted the human rights violations on at least 17 Khmeago monks, activists and defenders, repression through torture and ill treatment during pretrial detention remains apparent. In this dialogue we wish to raise the case of Ms. Tachti Hwari, a Kamakhron woman arrested on November 18, 2025 who just last night was put to trial and sentenced to 3.6 years in prison. She was arrested under Article 331 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code abuse of democratic freedom for merely organizing International Women's Day. Her prolonged detention without trial is deeply troubling and reflects the wider reality facing many commigral women and families. Uncertain. Oh, sorry. Uncertainty. Fear, psychological distress and the denial of due process. In the context of the Annual review of General Recommendation number 39, we respectfully stress the indigenous women must not be made invisible in discussions of repression. When indigenous women are detained, threatened or silenced, the impact reaches beyond the individual to children, families and the continuity of the entire community. We therefore respectfully ask the expert mechanism to continue to pay close attention to the Khmer Grom situation and to engage the Government of Vietnam on concrete protection measures. Additionally, we renew our request to Dr. Albert Borume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples to seek and press for an official visit to the Mekong Delta so that the realities facing Khmer indigenous peoples can be directly assessed on the ground. A visit would send an important signal to our people that they are not forgotten and would help move this issue from distant reporting to meaningful accountability. And I thank the representative of Commerce Kampuchya Crom. I now call upon the representative of Ati Wasu Kiowak Warani, seated in seat 70, Indigenous Peoples Organization.
Madam Chair, distinguished members of the Permanent Forum. I am here representing the Guarani people and more specifically Nguarani people and other indigenous peoples in the Misiones Province. Our territory is not a good to be traded. It is a space where our way of life is maintained as well as our spirituality and our identity. We want to tell the Argentinian government that Nyandelico is the word that encompasses that philosophy. Today, this way of life is at risk across Argentina. This is something that violates the native people's right to health. The Argentine state has not guaranteed that land deeds and ownership will be given to indigenous peoples for their territories, that forestry and mining enterprises and agro businesses are appropriating our lands. Our right to free prior informed consent is not being respected. Projects, extractive projects are adopted without consultation with communities. Far less is their consent sought. That violates Convention 169 of the ILO and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We demand recognition of indigenous territories through community deeds. The right to free prior and informed consent must be guaranteed. This is not a request. It's an estate obligation that must be fulfilled. The consequences are specific and grave in terms of our people's health. The physical and cultural survival of indigenous peoples, and particularly that of women and girls depends on the effective guarantee of their collective rights over their territories as well as to natural resources and access to clean water. This is recognized in general recommendation 39 of the Siddhaw. Without territories there can be no life. Without clean water there can be no health. And without health there's no future for our women and girls. Protecting these rights is not only an environmental issue but an international obligation which is tied to life, dignity and the continuity of Indigenous peoples. In many communities, such as for example the Puente Que Mado community, boys and girls can no longer take water from the rivers or mountainsides because it's polluted. That causes illnesses and gravely affects the mental health of Indigenous children. Children that violates fundamental rights to cultural identities, health and to a healthy environment. These rights cannot be enjoyed if we're not guaranteed our right to territories. However, we continue to be criminalized, repressed, stigmatized and social conflicts are sparked and worsened As a result, Indigenous territories across the country can only be protected if the FPIC principle is implemented in good faith across all projects.
I now call upon the representative of Manitoba Kewatinoi Okimakanak, seated in seat 48 indigenous peoples.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That's Manitoba Kiwatanawi Ogimaganak and we're from Northern Manitoba, Canada. And we recommend to the Special Rapporteur and the expert mechanism clearly articulate a framework for recognition of Indigenous and human right of food sovereignty. Within the principles of the Declaration and other United nations instruments, the meaningful exercise of the Indigenous and human rights to food sovereignty of Indigenous peoples, connection to the land and the Indigenous right of top priority are closely interlinked with the health of Indigenous Peoples, families, women, girls and youth. In times of virtually perpetual conflict with states and non state actors. In Canada, the Indigenous and human right of food sovereignty is rooted in pre contact Indigenous self sufficiency and in the promises made to first nations during the treaty making process to continue harvesting and to achieve food sovereignty in perpetuity. The Aboriginal right to hunt and fish is for acknowledged by the Supreme Court of Canada as an Indigenous right of top priority over all other users to harvest and gather from traditional lands and waters to meet the food needs of Indigenous people. We observe that the word food does not appear in the Declaration. The reference at Article 20 of the Declaration is to subsistence. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights sets out a right to adequate food and a fundamental right to be free from hunger. Paragraph 25 of the World Conference Outcome Report speaks of developing policies, programs and resources to support Indigenous Peoples occupations, traditional subsistence activities, economies, livelihoods, food security and nutrition. End quote. In 2008 the Food and Agriculture Organization's Right to Food Unit and the Secretariat on the Permanent Forum described food sovereignty as a political concept and have noted that there is no existing international human right corresponding to to the right of food sovereignty. In order to constructively affirm the indigenous and human right of food sovereignty, we call on the Special Rapporteur and the expert mechanism to encourage Member States to apply objective scenarios to the planning, approval and operation of infrastructure, resource, mining and energy developments. These scenarios may be necessary limit the nature of the scope of these developments in order to ensure the meaningful exercise of the Indigenous right to food sovereignty. I thank you.
I thank the representative of Manitowocanuk, Inc. I now call upon the representative of Teralingua Indigenous Youth Storyteller seated in seat six. Please put your hand up.
I acknowledge and greet you, venerable Madam Chair Aluki and Forum members. I thank the Special Rapporteur and MRIP for your chiefly work affirming our distinctly unique rights as Indigenous peoples. My name is M. Hailey Kukutai Walker. I am a child of the Ngatsitepa
peoples from the Waikato Tainui Mori Confederation.
I am a Master's student in Indigenous Studies, an Indigenous Youth Storytelling Tellers Circle Ambassador for Oceania. The incumbent right wing government of New Zealand is disemboweling my people. The government violates, but is not limited to articles 3 to 4, 11 to 1325 to 32 and FPIC, a substantive right of undrip. The plague of colonization which has ravaged and sickened US since the 1800s continues to threaten the indigenous human rights of our women and and children. Under their leadership, Mori women experience disproportionate levels of discrimination. In December, CERD released a 14 page report, its most scathing yet, raising grave concerns, stating Mori rights are under serious threat. The government has abandoned incarceration reduction targets. Our prison population is at a record high, with Mori women comprising of 63% of inmates. Despite accounting for just 8% of the new Zealand populace, the government has removed the responsibility of Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children, to work with Mori communities, quashing the protections for our babies that are within state care to maintain ties with their lineage, further disconnecting generations of Mori from their tribes. Mori youth have three times the annual suicide rate of non Mori. Mori women have three times the risk of being killed by intimate partner violence than our non Mori counterparts. The lack of trust in police, fear of having our children uplifted and our women disbelieved indicates there is a significant underreporting of abuse. Despite the Severity of these statistics alone. I explicitly make an example of the New Zealand government whom in July 2024 confirmed they were not progressing with implementing UNDRIP criticizing that it creates race based privilege and threatens national sovereignty. I recommend the Special Rapporteur and MRIP urge for United nations systems and states
who have an obligation to their indigenous
peoples and treaties to implement undrip. Furthermore, I implore you to exhort states like New Zealand to enforce recommendation 39 to comprehensively focus on indigenous women and girls. Hear the cry of my people, of our women, children and ancestors who wish for our Tapu sacredness and Mana authority to be upheld. Pai Marire. Thank you. I thank the representative of Teralingua Indigenous Youth Storytellers. I now call upon the representative of Pueblo Originario de Sarayaco seated in Seat 13 Indigenous Peoples Organization.
Muchas gracias, Estimada.
Thank you. Distinguished Chairman Members of the Permanent Foreign Brothers Sisters, Indigenous Brothers and Sisters of the World. My name is Mana Alver. I am the president of the Quechua Sarayeku people in Ecuador's Amazon region. Last year I was here and I talked to you about the fact that the Ecuadorian state was in breach of the ruling issued 14 years ago by the Inter American Court of Human Rights in the case of the Quecha Desarekwo people versus Ecuador. Today, unfortunately I do not bring good news to you because Ecuador has not yet upheld that ruling or abided by it and that continues to gravely imperil the lives of my people and our territory. In fact, the government is promoting the various oil projects covering thousands of hectares of indigenous territories and that perpetuates systematic violations that gave a rise to gave rise to the Inter American Court to which I just referred. So we asked the Permanent Forum to demand that the government of Ecuador does the one uphold and abides by the ruling beginning with the deactivation, neutralization or withdrawal of explosive materials dumped on indigenous territories as a result of explosions used to clear land. They must abide by the principle of ETHPIC with the genuine and effective and binding participation of our people. Moreover, we ask the international community and the UN human rights mechanisms and this Permanent forum to continue to remain watchful regarding compliance with the ruling to which I referred and the enjoyment of the rights of the indigenous people of Ecuador. What I'm talking about in our case is not just a matter of historical redress. Upholding that that court ruling is to guarantee that indigenous people's rights can be brought before court and are non negotiable. Thank you.
I thank the representative of Pueblo Originario de Sarayaco. I now call upon the representative of association of the Kolasami seated in Seat 92, Indigenous Peoples Organization. Madam Chair, Distinguished experts, I represent the association of the Kolasami of Russia. We welcome the report of the expert mechanism on the right to a traditional economy. For us, preserving traditional livelihoods and the traditional economy in reindeer herding is one of our key priorities. We call for improving legal mechanisms for exercising the right to priority access to land and biological resources. Resources. We support the recommendation of the expert mechanism on the need for a genuine integration of indigenous peoples traditional economies into the global sustainability network framework. The transformation of global economic relations is reducing the profitability of indigenous peoples traditional economies. There should be no contradiction between preserving the traditional way of life and modernizing the traditional economy. We need to improve our legal and economic literacy, including through educational programs and targeted professional training. The traditional economic sectors of indigenous peoples must also be taken into account in national policies on biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation. Today we mark Mother Earth Day. This is a timely reminder of the fragility of ecosystems and of the dependence of indigenous peoples on the well being of the environment. Like many other peoples, we face energy transition projects and it is very concerning that not all companies seek to conduct good faith consultations and apply due diligence principles. We therefore call for expanding mechanisms that take the rights of indigenous peoples into account in the licensing of subsoil use, including an assessment of potential impacts on sustainable development. Our priority is to minimize potential adverse impacts on ecosystems and on the traditional way of life of indigenous peoples. The technical recommendations of the expert mechanisms following its country engagement with Norway remain highly relevant. I have a question for the chair of the expert mechanism, Ms. Cunningham. What are the main conclusions that the expert mechanism can share following this country engagement and what progress has been made on the implementation of the expert mechanism's technical recommendations? We recommend that the UN mandate holders prepare practical guidelines on the application of due diligence principles with regard to the rights of indigenous peoples. We recommend that the expert mechanism prepare a study on relations between business and indigenous peoples from a human rights perspective, including the issue of the commercial use of indigenous peoples cultures. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that it is fundamentally important to exclude the politicization of indigenous people's rights. The issues of health, climate change and biodiversity conservation must be addressed on the basis of scientific data, traditional knowledge and the collective position of indigenous peoples and not based on political expediency. Thank you very much. I thank the representative of association of the Kola Sami. I Now call upon the representative of the assembly of First Nations Quebec, Labrador, seated in Seat 658 Indigenous Peoples Organization, Honorable Chair, fellow Indigenous leaders and of course my indigenous brothers and sisters from all the all over the world. Sego Sebaque I signed before you as one of the representatives for the AFNQL and elected Women's Council represented representing the Quebec region as well as a chief from Akwesasne. For Indigenous people, human rights are not abstract principles. They are measured by whether our women and girls feel safe when accessing quality and equitable care, whether our children and elders are treated fairly and with dignity in public institutions and whether our voices are respected. UNDRIP already affirms our inherent rights to self determination. Canada has formally committed to its implementation through the United States Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People act. And yet the reality faced by our women and girls demonstrates that the gap is not one of one of knowledge or policy. It is a gap of implementation and accountability. We know enough. Countless inquiries and reports continue to demonstrate that Indigenous girls and women face systemic discrimination, racism as well as inferior treatment. Then my question is how many more missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two spirit people will it take before meaningful actions take place? How many more Indigenous women, girls and two spirit people must be victim of imposed sterilization and be subject to any form of obstetric violence before we recognize and act upon systemic racism? How many more tragedies must we endure before the State recognizes the industrial injustices that have been inflicted upon us? These are serious crimes and must be recognized as such. Unfortunately, I know that our reality echoes and mirrors in so many ways and it is heartbreaking. Although we hold the right to equitable and quality health care, the determinants of our health are also found in expressing our culture, speaking our languages and accessing living off our lands in unceded territories. As affirmed in General Recommendation number 39 and UNDRIP. True dignity and respect can only emerge when States and their institutions recognize these determinants and inseparable from our collective health and wellness. This requires a systemic understanding and application of the principle of free, prior and informed consent in the context of AFNQL calls upon the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to adopt a formal Declaration of Commitment urging States to respect, implement and actively promote. I thank the representative of afnql. I now call upon the representative of the African Indigenous Women Organization Central African Network seated in seat 106.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Distinguished Delegate. I speak on behalf of the Borough Social and Cultural Development association of Cameroon Analysis of Data collected by Mboskuda and partners reveal a systematic pattern of human rights violation marked by targeted violence, economic exploitation and a serious gap in protection affecting borough people. Our data document 175 victims, including 75 kidnappings, 20 killings and a loss of over 1,350 cattle with ransom payment exceeding 141 million CFA. These are not isolated incidents, but I'm sure it reflects organized and sustained targeting of borough people. A central future of this crisis is kidnapping for ransom. Victims are abducted and families forced to pay amount ranging from 600 to 8 million CFA, sums that devastate entire households in the Northwest region. Many of these incidences are reportedly perpetrated by armed separatists based on consistent victims accounts and field reports. At the same time, we are witnessing serious physical violence, including killing, beating and acts of amounting to torture. After years to enforce ransom payment and seize property, livestock, the backbone of the borough livelihood and identity, is also being systematically targeted. The loss of over 1300 cattle represent not only economic devastation and a direct threat to cultural survival. Recent incident further highlight this pattern. In Toboro, for example, cattle belonging to members of the borough community were seized and sold outside legal procedure. In Mayo Dali report indicate killing of cattle as well as physical assault on headers and poisoning of animals with little or no effective response from administrative authorities. Madam Chair, we call on the government to strengthen protection measures, conduct independent investigation, ensure accountability, provide reparation and implement reforms. Promote inclusive dialogue. This is not only a human rights crisis, it is a question of survival, dignity and justice for indigenous people.
I thank the representative of the African Indigenous Women Organization Central African Network. I now call upon the representative of Semilla Warunkwa seated in seat 30, Keakutayuama.
My name is Stacy Bugarin Avila. On behalf of my community, the Indigenous Autonomous Huir Alicante Puana Community in Jalisco, Mexico. We thank our Sisters of Seminar Warunca for sharing this space. And we thank you, Madam Chair, and thank the Special Rapporteur and the expert mechanism for their work. I speak today with grief, but with conviction. Undrip affirms the right of indigenous peoples to maintain and develop their own health systems and practices, emphasizing the central role of autonomy in order to achieve health equity. In this context, we ask how would the special repertoire in MRIP straighten accountability for attacks against indigenous and land defenders and indigenous health promoters that are being threatened and killed for defending autonomy and autonomous health systems? What concrete measures will be taken to ensure that the States implement General Recommendation number 39, particularly in protecting indigenous led health systems? In this context of conflict, when land defenders are attacked and killed, indigenous health systems are undermined. Not to mention the physical, mental, emotional impact these attacks cause. COMMUNITY and survivors. In our community in Azkeltan, before being brutally murdered recently, our brother Marcos Aguilar Rojas, who was an indigenous authority, helped build an autonomous health clinic for the community. His killing reflects a broader pattern of violence against indigenous land defenders and health promoters, particularly where extractive projects, lithium, in the case of Azkeltan, are imposed without free, prior and informed consent. From Chiapas, where the Mayan Zapatista communities have developed their own autonomous health system over the last 30 years, to El Cauca, with the example of the creek, to Amazonia, and across seven social, cultural regions. What we see globally is this pattern that persists. When indigenous people exercise autonomy and build their own autonomous health systems, they are met with violence and impunity. We emphasize that autonomy is not separate from health, it is its foundation. Who protects us, if not ourselves? Marco's assassination and threats were not neighborly disputes, but part of a wider pattern of disposition driven by extractive interests and systematic racism across Mexico and the global South. When we have the evidence but the state enables and is silent, where do we turn? Our brother, Marcos Rojas Aguilar Estaqui presente our sister Cristina Bautista, who participated in this forum shortly before being murdered, also for defending autonomy. Espressente.
She is present. Autonomy is life. Subjugation is death. The microphone is being cut off.
I thank the representative of Semilla Warunca. We have heard the last statement of our interactive discussion on this item. For this meeting. I apologize to those who wish to take the floor, but could not do so due to the lack of time. Before we adjourn, I will give the floor to our distinguished panelists for three minutes each to share brief final reflections on the statements made during this dialogue. I first give the floor to Mr. Barumi, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me thank all the people who intervened, states and indigenous people organization. I just want to make one concluding point. Madam Chair. Madam Chair. I wish and I hope this forum notes that there is Indigenous people are under crisis. There is a crisis indigenous people are currently experiencing. And it's because indigenous people are. Many are killed, many are under arrest, many live in hiding. And Madam Chair. This is because indigenous people, land and territory are often not protected enough, both legally and institutionally, so they are vulnerable. And this is in Latin America, this is in Africa, this is in Asia, across the world Those land and territory are often occupied by drug traffickers, migrant traffickers, terrorist groups and any type of criminal activities. And when that happen, Madam Chair, the action of States is to send in more military, more security services and more police. And next to that, States consider indigenous people either as accomplice or becoming enemy of states and often declared terrorists. And then the trend starts. Mr. Chair, Madam Chair. Indigenous people are killed, Indigenous people are arrested. Indigenous people live in hiding. As you heard from the statement, Madam Chair, it is crucial that during this session that crisis that indigenous people are under as we speak is noted that states, and this is my call, Madam Chair, is that state can shift the paradigm. Indigenous people are actually and should actually be part of the solution. If indigenous people right to self determination over the land and territory is reinforced is absolutely an added value to both national and international security. The sending in of military and more security services is a short term, not durable. And I call upon States, Madam Chair, to shift that paradigm and make indigenous people partners. I thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I thank Mr. Barume. Next I give the floor to Ms. Anixa Alfred Cunningham, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Thank you, Madam Chair.
On behalf of mrip, I wish to thank all people that have contributed to this substantive dialogue. Today's statements reaffirm a clear reality. Indigenous peoples continue to face persistent structural challenges, specifically when it comes to their lands, territories, natural resources, their safety, their effective participation in decision making processes and the respect for their cultures and knowledge systems. These phenomena are not neutral. They have a differentiated impact on indigenous women and girls and indigenous persons with disabilities and on other groups that are more vulnerable groups more specifically that face multiple forms of discrimination and that demands intersectional and culturally appropriate differentiated responses. We've also listened with conditions about backsliding in terms of protection of Indigenous peoples. This backsliding is worsened by global financial constraints. This trend is directly affecting the implementation of specially programs specifically for indigenous women and gender diverse indigenous peoples. We're also seeing the impact of climate change and environmental degradation that has a disproportionate impact on our lands, our health and indigenous people's way of lives. The expert mechanism reiterates the importance of strengthening consistency across the international human rights system. The United Nations Declaration under it must remain our central point of reference. We also value sustained cooperation with the Permanent Forum and the Special Rapporteur. Looking to the future, we encourage the active participation in upcoming panels, except Expert Panel on Human Rights to be held in September. And turning to the question from the Sami association, the technical advice Note on cooperation with Norway is on our webpage and we invite you to look at it now to respond to the question put forward to the SAI Nation and indeed others regarding the participation of indigenous people. You can directly register to participate in NRIP and we're delighted to confirm that now. It's also possible to participate under a number of agenda items before the Human Rights Council that will be held in September 2026. To conclude, MRIP expresses its hearty thanks to you for ongoing coordination with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People and with this forum. Despite the fact our mandates are different, they are complementary and they strengthen the human rights ecosystem for the indigenous peoples under the un. Allow me to encourage and that encourages more consistent action. Thank you.
I thank Ms. Alfred Cunningham on behalf of the Forum. I thank our distinguished panelists sincerely for their substantive and insightful presentations that have certainly enriched our deliberations this morning. I also thank all the participants for their input to the dialogue we just had. The Forum will meet again this afternoon at 3:00pm in the conference room to continue its consideration of agenda item 5D and hold a general discussion with a pre established list of speakers. I would like to remind representatives of Indigenous Peoples organizations that their online registration for the discussion with a pre established established list of speakers For Agenda Item 4 On Friday 24th April will be open tomorrow morning for 23rd April from 9 o' clock to 11 o'. Clock. Thank you so much everyone. The meeting is adjourned. Context. Sa.