6 June 2017: UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Peter Thomson circulated the second revised draft of a UNGA resolution on ways to enable the participation of indigenous peoples’ representatives and institutions in meetings of relevant UN bodies on issues affecting them. The draft was revised by the four advisers on the consultation process on the basis of intergovernmental negotiations that took place on 25-26 May 2017. The second revision was the basis for intergovernmental consultations on 9 June 2017.
The text notes that when indigenous people are able to participate, deliberations at UN meetings have become richer, more informed, more solutions-based and more diverse. It adds that their participation from all regions contributes to knowledge and expertise in the UN, and strengthens cooperation between States and indigenous peoples in a peaceful and constructive fashion.
The revised draft resolution invites indigenous peoples’ representative institutions to participate in the sessions and work of the UNGA and its committees on issues affecting them. It explains that the UNGA President in consultation with Member States and indigenous peoples’ representative institutions will determine which meetings, or parts thereof, of the UNGA and its committees address issues affecting indigenous peoples. At a minimum, the draft adds, they include the parts of UNGA meetings and its committees’ meetings under agenda items referring specifically to ‘Indigenous’ or ‘Indigenous Peoples.’
By the text, indigenous peoples’ representative institutions will be allowed to make oral statements as time permits, and to submit written statements in one of the UN official languages, and they will be allocated appropriate seating arrangements in meetings they attend. The draft also decides: to establish a new mechanism to review and decide upon applications from indigenous peoples’ representative institutions for participation at the UN, known as the Application Committee; the Application Committee will be comprised of representatives of seven Members States, elected by the UNGA taking into account the seven socio-geographic regions of indigenous peoples that have been identified by the UN; and the Application Committee will be assisted by an Expert Advisory Group composed of seven experts selected by the UNGA President on the basis of proposals by and consultation with indigenous peoples from all seven sociogeographic indigenous regions.
The draft acknowledges that there is no internationally agreed definition of “indigenous peoples,” and that the situation of indigenous peoples varies from region to region and from country to country. It also notes that new arrangements agreed in the resolution will not affect the intergovernmental nature of the UN. Intergovernmental negotiations are further scheduled for 21-23 June and 27-28 June.
Also in the beginning of June, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) launched a questionnaire to gather inputs for a note on national action plans to achieve the ends of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The questionnaire seeks to collect examples from states, indigenous peoples and national human rights institutions (NHRIs), with a deadline of 30 June 2017. [Second Revised Draft] [Questionnaire] [SDG Knowledge Hub Coverage of Indigenous Peoples’ Participation Process]