7 November 2014: As the Second Decade of Indigenous Peoples draws to a close at the end of 2014, the Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples (UNPFII), Dalee Sambo Dorough, has urged UN Member States to declare a third such decade, to promote implementation of commitments.

In her communication, Dorough said a Third Decade of Indigenous Peoples will ensure attention to achieving the aims of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the outcome of the September 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP), with the support of the UN system.

The UN declared the First Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples from 1994-2003. A Second Decade was proclaimed from 1 January 2005.

The UNPFII chair said the past two decades have contributed to a growing awareness of the need to protect the human rights of indigenous peoples, and noted milestones on indigenous peoples’ rights, including the establishment of the Permanent Forum and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. [Dorough Statement] [UNPFII Press Release]