PERMANENT FORUM AN ACHIEVEMENT SHARED BY GOVERNMENTS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SAYS

13 May 2002




Statement by High Commissioner for Human Rights
at Inaugural Session of Permanent Forum
for Indigenous Peoples,

New York, 13 May 2002


Deputy Secretary General
Members of the Permanent Forum
Distinguished delegates and guests
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am glad to join other voices today to help you celebrate this historic achievement. I use the word “celebrate” deliberately. At a time when the international community and the United Nations is beset with so many challenges, this inaugural session of the Permanent Forum represents a challenge that has actually been met. This was the challenge, recognized by indigenous peoples a long time ago, and acknowledged at the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, to find space within the United Nations system for indigenous peoples themselves to address the serious issues affecting their communities.

It is satisfying that the achievement is a shared one – an achievement both of governments and indigenous peoples. The structure of this forum, consisting of both governmental and indigenous experts, reflects this partnership – which is even mirrored in the seating plan for the room. It will be important now to ensure that this sense of partnership and shared achievement continues. Ideally, you will succeed in giving new meaning to the official slogan of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People: “partnership in action”. Much of the experience gained in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations will be relevant - and I would like to welcome the presence today of its distinguished long-time chair, Mrs. Erica Daes – but much will also need to be developed afresh. I share your sense of anticipation and expectation, both as co-ordinator of the Decade and as an honorary chieftain of the Choctaw People.

The Forum has another special feature that will define its development. Although it was born out of a resolution in the Commission on Human Rights, and I wish to acknowledge the leadership provided by Denmark in that process, the mandate of this body extends beyond human rights. This is important not only for the activities of the Forum but also for the innovative way it will need to be supported and financed within the United Nations system – a matter I will return to later. The Forum is mandated to cover economic and social issues, health and education, human rights and development and, indeed, all relevant matters that are dealt with by ECOSOC. This means that we now have a common space for indigenous peoples where all the diverse parts of the UN family can meet, exchange information and coordinate their efforts. This is a body that has the capacity to address indigenous issues in a truly holistic and comprehensive manner.

The range of potential matters for your attention is broad indeed. For indigenous peoples the question of land is a crucial issue, which goes to the heart of indigenous culture and identity. Closely related to this is the protection of the environment. In many places the preservation of natural resources is linked to the survival of peoples. The processes of national development and poverty reduction need to be viewed from the indigenous perspective. This is clearly true for peoples who pursue traditional ways of life, but it is no less the case for those who, by choice or by reason of displacement, have established communities within urban environments. The approach to individual and collective rights will be instructive as we seek international consensus on the right to development. Indigenous peoples are the custodians of a vast array of traditional knowledge and rich and diverse cultural heritages that must be acknowledged, respected and preserved. The right to one’s own language is crucial in this regard. I know that the right to health is a fundamental issue in many communities where the demographics of life expectancy and infant mortality are often shocking when viewed in relation to the communities around them.

Amongst many pressing issues there are two that I would like particularly to draw to your attention. The first is the role of children and young people. We have just completed a Special Session of the UN General Assembly on children at which the children reminded us they are both our present and our future, and that we have important obligations towards them. If anything, this is even more true of indigenous children and young people. As we heard this morning, young people have clear ideas of their own and their ideas need to be attended to. I hope the members of the Permanent Forum will find ways to ensure that the voices of the young continue to be heard.

The other issue is discrimination. Indigenous peoples around the world remain subject to high numbers of incidents of racism and intolerance. Indigenous women often suffer multiple layers of discrimination. The extent of this racism and discrimination was recognized explicitly at last year’s World Conference against Racism in Durban. Indigenous issues were accorded a separate chapter in the Programme of Action agreed at that meeting. This Forum can play a role in follow up of that Agenda.

There are many issues for you to address. But fortunately there are also many resources within the United Nations system at your disposal. This brings me to another key aspect of your mandate: you are charged with providing expert advice and recommendations to the UN’s programmes and agencies and with promoting coordination of activities in relation to indigenous peoples within the UN system.

This will require you to develop an understanding of how the UN system functions, learning where its strengths lie and where it has limitations. I am pleased that this process has already begun with the technical assistance of UNITAR and the financial support of the Canadian government. But the scope of your mandate, and its focus on the coordination of UN activity, also imposes an obligation on the United Nations system to provide appropriate structures for you to accomplish your work.

When the Secretary-General appointed my Office as lead agency for the establishment of the Permanent Forum, one of our first priorities was to set in place a system of interagency consultation. It quickly became clear that this should constitute itself into a permanent mechanism for linking the Permanent Forum with the rest of the UN system. Apart from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, this interagency support group now includes UNDP, UN Habitat, UNFPA - and I would like particularly to thank Mark Malloch Brown, Anna Tibaijuka and Thoraya Obaid for being with us here today – UNEP, WHO, UNITAR, DPI, WIPO, UNHCR, FAO, UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF, , CBD, and the World Bank. This group exists to assist the Permanent Forum. It’s members have already made some contribution to the preparations of the present session, in terms of documentation and the loan of staff, and to the many parallel events that have been organized over the next two weeks.

Ensuring that this unique Forum works effectively will require innovation and flexibility. From our side, the UN system still needs to think creatively of ways of managing itself differently in relation to the Permanent Forum. There is clearly a need for a permanent secretariat to service this body. The recommendations that you, the members, make in that regard will greatly assist us in determining how the Forum should be supported.

Your views should also serve to guide governments in deciding on how the Forum should be financed. At present, the ECOSOC resolution mandates that the financing of the Permanent Forum shall be provided from “within existing resources” and through “such voluntary contributions as may be donated”. I want to be frank on the matter of financing since the members of the Forum will need to consider carefully the recommendations they wish to make. To date, in the absence of regular budget financing, virtually all of the non-conference service costs associated with supporting the Forum have been drawn from precious unearmarked funds within our human rights budget.

I do not regret these expenditures, as I believe the Forum will become an important mechanism for advancing the human rights of indigenous peoples. But this avenue of financing is not sustainable. I know that this was not what Member States intended when they created this important body. In the absence of regular budget funding, extra-budgetary contributions become critical and I express my appreciation to the governments of New Zealand and Ecuador as the first States to make such a contribution. But stable, permanent funding of this Permanent Forum is absolutely necessary for its effective functioning and success.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In discussing the Permanent Forum there is a natural tendency to focus on what the UN system can do for indigenous peoples. This is understandable. But I think it is important that we give at least equal weight to what indigenous peoples can do for the United Nations. I was moved last week by a young Maori boy’s spiritual invocation at the beginning of an event. Today we have been privileged to receive the traditional welcome of the Haudenosaunee. Beyond their traditional knowledge and cultural accomplishments, the indigenous peoples of the world are possessed of a unique spirituality, vision and sense of community. If the members of the Permanent Forum can find a way to share some of the wisdom and world view of their peoples with the United Nations family and with the wider international community, then this may prove to be their most important and enduring achievement.

I wish you every success, and pledge you every support, in the weeks and months ahead.



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