5 September 2014: The President of the UN General Assembly issued a matrix compiling Member States’ proposals on the draft outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP), in preparation for further intergovernmental negotiations. The WCIP will take place as a Special Session of the UN General Assembly, on 22-23 September 2014, in New York, US.

Proposals from Member States voiced in consultations on 4-5 September include a proposal for reforming and strengthening the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) to become a ‘Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples,’ with an increase from 16 to 20 members. The matrix also indicates, for example, that some Member States have posed specific objections to the mention of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and reproductive rights, among other issues.

Specific language has been proposed on, inter alia: addressing the impact of militarizing indigenous peoples’ lands and territories; respecting and utilizing indigenous peoples’ knowledge in developing policies and standards on climate change mitigation and adaptation; and encouraging governments to recognize in their legislation a significant contribution of indigenous peoples in protecting Mother Earth.

Intergovernmental negotiations were set to continue on 9-10 September. Andrej Logar, Slovenia, and Marjon Kamara, Liberia, are co-chairing the informal consultations on the WCIP outcome. [Compilation of proposals] [WCIP Website]