3 October 2016: UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Peter Thomson convened an informal briefing on the UNGA consultation process on the participation of indigenous peoples in UN meetings on issues affecting them. The four advisers to the process, who were appointed by the previous UNGA President, Mogens Lykketoft, and reappointed by Thomson on 28 September 2016, updated participants on the compilation of views from consultations conducted from March to July 2016. They also outlined the process of intergovernmental consultations to take the consultation outcome forward towards a UNGA resolution during the 71st session.

Thomson stressed the need to ensure that development gains reach indigenous populations and that the SDGs are reached for all. This requires that indigenous peoples can participate in making decisions that affect their lives, he said. Thomson said the compilation should form the basis for a draft UNGA resolution to enable the effective, meaningful participation of indigenous peoples at the UN, and that the process should conclude during the 71st UNGA session. Thomson also noted that the UNGA will convene a high-level event for the ten-year anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), in 2017.

Kai Sauer, Permanent Representative of Finland and one of the advisers for the process, noted that the compilation of views includes an addendum of elements for further discussion, and that intergovernmental consultations in this regard are planned for: 14-15 December 2016; 30 January-3 February 2017; and in early March 2017.

Claire Winfield Ngamihi Charters, an adviser for the process representing indigenous peoples in the Pacific region, summarized the findings from the consultation. She reported “clear consensus” that indigenous peoples have the right to participate at the UN in matters affecting them, per the right to self-determination, and she noted agreement that this should not undermine States’ UN membership or territorial integrity. She reported “considerable, but not uniform” support for a separate category of participation for indigenous peoples. She also reviewed options for where in the UN system indigenous peoples could participate, how this participation could be managed, and who should be included. Views on these and other issues are reflected in the elements paper for further discussion, she said. In an exchange of views with Member States, some said that not all of the views are convergent, and expressed hope that the consultations will also highlight divergent views.

The consultation process was initiated following UNGA resolution 70/232 of 23 December 2015 on the rights of indigenous peoples. The other advisers for the process are Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Permanent Representative of Ghana, and James Anaya, representative of indigenous peoples of the North America region. The consultations’ outcome is summarized in A/70/99. [IISD RS Sources] [UNGA President’s Letter on Reappointment and Informal Briefing] [Consultation Process Website] [IISD RS Story on Compilation of Views] [UNDRIP Commemoration]