Seventh Session of EMRIP Wraps Up in Geneva

Joseph Itongwa, presenting at the NJ-ICCA

Consortium side event on access to justice

The 7th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP-7) took place from 7-11 July 2014 at the UN Headquarters (Palais des Nations) in Geneva. This session included a continuation of last year’s thematic study on access to justice, with a focus on Indigenous women, children, and persons with disabilities, as well as a new thematic study on disaster risk reduction. Natural Justice also co-hosted a lunch-time event with the ICCA Consortium on Monday 7 July. Overall, two key points of particular importance were: a) the multiple references to environmental issues (a notable shift over the past few sessions of EMRIP), and b) a more nuanced look at the special rights and types of marginalisation of groups within Indigenous peoples (women, youth and children, and persons with disabilities).

The Session saw a turnover in the Experts, with a new expert for the Asian region (Mr. Edtami Mansayagan from the Philippines) beginning his three-year term. The zero draft of the outcome document for the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples created much discussion, while the continuation of the study on access to justice raised a number of issues concerning Indigenous peoples' lands, territories and resources as well as reconciliatory and transformative justice.

When the draft study on disaster risk reduction was being considered, Natural Justice and the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC) made a joint statement, presented by Joseph Itongwa, on on climate change and vulnerability, traditional knowledge systems, customary tenure rights and legal recognition and support for customary natural resource governance, and the role of territory-based systems of natural resource governance and conservation in climate change mitigation and adaptation and prevention of disasters. Several suggestions were taken on board in the revised version of the study and the Expert Mechanism Advice No. 7 contained therein, which is expected to be adopted at the next Human Rights Council session in September 2014.

UN Permanent Forum Holds Dialogue with United Nations Agencies and Funds

May 15, 2014 marked the fourth day of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Permanent Forum). The afternoon session of the fourth day was dedicated to a comprehensive dialogue with United Nations agencies and funds. Several UN agencies and funds gave statements, as did indigenous representatives.

Of particular note were statements by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the World Bank. The FAO provided an inter-agency statement on behalf of UNEP, IUCN/WISP, IFAD, and ILC regarding sustainable pastoralism and the post-2015 agenda. In that statement, the FAO affirmed that pastoralism is a sustainable livelihood and that two decades of research supported pastoralism as an economically viable livelihood that caused less degradation than intensive livestock production.

World Bank Steps Up Discussions with Indigenous Groups at this Year's UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Photo Credit: UNPFII

During this year’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues the World Bank engaged with Indigenous Peoples in a number of formal and informal sessions. Formally these engagements took place during plenary sessions of the Permanent Forum and informally during side events and organized dialogues. The size of the World Bank's team attending the Forum, which came up to 30 people in comparison to just a handful during last year's event, demonstrates the increased relevance the institution places on recognizing indigenous peoples as an important constituent in its work. 

The World Bank’s most important item of engagement was the review process with respect to its social and environmental safeguards that the World Bank is currently undertaking, which include a policy on indigenous peoples (Operational Policy 4.10). As the current policy was drafted in 2005, many of the numerous comments made by Indigenous Peoples during the discussions related to a demand to bring the policy in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007), including the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). Furthermore, representatives called on the World Bank to not only examine the impact of UNDRIP on OP 4.10 but on all of the Bank’s policies.  It was highlighted that the importance of updating OP 4.10 cannot be overestimated, as in 2012 alone the safeguards were triggered by 20% of all World Bank projects, not including projects where they potentially should have been triggered but were not.

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Enters Second Week

The twelfth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is currently taking place at United Nations headquarters in New York City from May 20 to May 31. The UNPFII is an advisory body to the UN Economic and Social Council, which is the UN platform on economic and social issues. The UNPFII brings together Indigenous peoples, governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders in unique fashion to collaborate on issues faced by Indigenous peoples. Natural Justice is attending the UNPFII and undertaking a number of activities, including supporting the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC) and the National Khoi-San Council, as well as launching the second edition of the Living Convention. This year, Mr. Kanyinke Sena, a former IPACC Executive Committee member, has been nominated as the Chair of the UNPFII. 

This session of the UNPFII is billed as a Review Year, and is addressing a number of different issues, including health, education, culture, human rights, and the World Bank. On Thursday, May 23, the UNPFII held a half day on the African region, where, among other things, a study on resilience, traditional knowledge and capacity- building for pastoralist communities in Africa was addressed. Natural Justice also helped in the preparation of statements on the Khoi-San communities as well as the World Bank that were read during plenary sessions of the UNPFII. During the second week, the UNPFII will address, among other issues, a Consolidated report on extractive industries and their impact on indigenous peoples, as well as the future work of the UNPFII.