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Top UN official urges inclusion of rights of indigenous peoples in new global agenda

Xinhua, April 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

A top UN official on Monday appealed to member states to include the situation and rights of indigenous peoples in the post-2015 development agenda when they are hammering out the new global agenda.

"I call on member states to make sure the post-2015 development agenda includes the situation and rights of indigenous peoples," Jan Eliasson, the deputy UN secretary-general, said while addressing the opening of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) here. "Now is the time for indigenous peoples to be at the forefront of a transformative agenda that leaves no one behind."

The United Nations is leading all the member states in the efforts to draft the post-2015 development agenda, or the Sustainable Development Agenda, which will replace the Millennium Development Agenda, a set of eight anti-poverty targets, by the end of this year.

"2015 is a critical year for the United Nations. We will mark the Organization's 70th anniversary, define a new development agenda and strengthen our efforts to tackle climate change," Eliasson said, adding that "The future well-being of the world's indigenous peoples is a crucial part of this critical year."

"I count on member states and indigenous peoples to identify creative solutions to enhance indigenous peoples' engagement on issues affecting them, directly or indirectly," he added.

"We have made substantial progress," he said, noting that there are three mechanisms devoted to indigenous issues: first, the Permanent Forum, the special rapporteur and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; secondly, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and thirdly, the World Conference which was successfully held last September.

This year, the Permanent Forum will focus on the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples. The UN Declaration affirms their rights to health, education, clean drinking water and sanitation. It also states that these services must be provided in ways that are culturally appropriate and take into account indigenous peoples'ways of life.

"This often, as we know, involves living in remote areas within traditional lands," he said.

"Let us strive to ensure that the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples are fulfilled -- rights that are essential to basic dignity and even to survival."

UNPFII is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

Also on Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Wu Hongbo, the UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, chair of the Permanent Forum, to coordinate the world efforts to incorporate the situation and rights of the indigenous peoples into the new global development agenda. Endite