By Les Malezer
les.malezer@gmail.com
I bring to your attention that Indigenous Peoples are now claiming a higher role at the United Nations. Some consideration of the claim is happening. This message from the United Nations is seeking submissions on the proposals by 9 April 2012.
Specifically, the higher role seeks participation on a more equal footing to States. This claim for improved status is being made to gain recognition of self-determining peoples, acknowledging Indigenous Peoples' delegations which represent nations or governments at the United Nations.
Current procedures only accept Non-Government Organisations as observers. The following message refers.
regards
Les
Consultation on indigenous peoples' participation in the United Nations
In operative paragraph 13 of Human Rights Council resolution 18/8 of September 2011, the Human Rights Council requested the Secretary General, in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office of Legal Affairs and other relevant parts of the
Secretariat:
"to prepare a detailed document on the ways and means of promoting
participation at the United Nations of recognized indigenous peoples’
representatives on issues affecting them, given that they are not always
organized as non-governmental organizations, and on how such participation
might be structured, drawing from, inter alia, the rules governing the
participation in various United Nations bodies by non-governmental
organizations (including Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31) and
by national human rights institutions (including Human Rights Council
resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007 and Commission on Human Rights resolution
2005/74 of 20 April 2005), and to present it to the Council at its
twenty-first session;"
Further to this request by the Human Rights Council, and to facilitate the
preparation of this document, OHCHR would like to invite indigenous peoples'
organisations, academics and civil society more broadly to provide, by 9
April 2012, their views on the ideal ways and means to promote participation
at the United Nations of recognised indigenous peoples’ representatives on
issues affecting them and on how such participation might be structured. In
particular, OHCHR would welcome views on:
• which existing procedures to accredit non-governmental organisations might
be appropriately applied to the accreditation of indigenous peoples’
representatives to meetings of United Nations organs.
• the current practices to accredit indigenous peoples’ organisations to the
Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues and how such practices could be applied to other United
Nations meetings.
• whether it is desirable for the General Assembly to adopt a decision
setting out general procedures that would apply to indigenous peoples’
representatives’ participation at United Nations meetings, or whether
separate decisions should be adopted by the Economic and Social Council and
the Human Rights Council on their participation.
• what would be the appropriate next steps in terms of considering this
issue further within the United Nations.
Responses can be submitted electronically to the OHCHR (Claire Charters at
ccharters@ohchr.org) or by mail to the OHCHR, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
(addressed to Claire Charters). Please indicate whether the information
provided can be made available on the OHCHR website. For further
information, please contact Claire Charters at the above mentioned email
address.
A similar call for contributions has been made to states.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/Pages/ConsultationonIPparticipat...