United Nations Forum to seek further implementation of Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will meet in at UN Headquarters in New York from 18 to 29 May 2009 to discuss ways to further implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which gained momentum last month when Australia officially endorsed the Declaration after previously having voted against it.

Some 2,000 indigenous representatives from all regions of the world are expected to participate in the eighth session of the Forum, as well as State representatives, civil society, academia, some 35 UN system bodies and other inter-governmental organizations.

The Forum will also discuss the relationship between indigenous peoples and industrial corporations, and the need to promote corporate social responsibility. A report submitted to the Forum notes that extractive industries, such as mineral, oil and gas extraction, disproportionately impact indigenous peoples. Other issues on the Forum’s agenda include climate change, the Arctic region and land tenure.(...)

For information:

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/PFII8_PR1.pdf

The Eighth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/session_eighth.html

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (website):

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/index.html