UNPFII Twenty-fourth Session: 21 April - 2 May 2025

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https://social.desa.un.org/issues/indigenous-peoples/unpfii

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is a high- level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council. The Forum was established on 28 July 2000 by resolution 2000/22, with the mandate to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

More specifically, the Permanent Forum:

provides expert advice and recommendations on Indigenous issues to the Council, as well as to programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations, through ECOSOC;
raises awareness and promotes the integration and coordination of activities related to Indigenous issues within the UN system;
prepares and disseminates information on Indigenous issues;
promotes respect for and full application of the provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and follow up the effectiveness of this Declaration (Art. 42 UNDRIP).

The first meeting of the Permanent Forum was held in May 2002, with yearly sessions thereafter. The Forum usually meets for 10 days each year, at the UN Headquarters in New York. According to the ECOSOC resolution E/2000/22, the Forum may also meet at the UN Office in Geneva or at such other place that it decides.

In addition to the six mandated areas (economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights), each session is thematically focused on a specific issue.

The Permanent Forum is one of three UN bodies that is mandated to deal specifically with Indigenous Peoples’ issues. The others are the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Permanent Forum’s engagement and role in promoting Indigenous Peoples’ rights are made possible through the Trust Fund on Indigenous Issues, which overall facilitates follow-up to the Forum’s recommendations, awareness raising and outreach on Indigenous issues as well as representation and participation of Permanent Forum members at international meetings of significance for its mandate. In addition, the Trust Fund provides support for the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. DESA is charged with the overall management of the Trust Fund, which is placed under the Indigenous Peoples and Development Branch-Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Provisional Agenda

Provisional Agenda for the twenty-fourth session (E/C.19/2025/1)

1. Election of officers.

2. Adoption of the agenda and organization of work.

3. Discussion on the theme “Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within United Nations Member States and the United Nations system, including identifying good practices and addressing challenges”.

4. Discussion on the six mandated areas of the Permanent Forum (economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health and human rights), with reference to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

5. Dialogues:

(a) Dialogue with Indigenous Peoples;

(b) Dialogue with Member States;

(d) Human rights dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; annual review of progress on the implementation of general recommendation No. 39 (2022);

(e) Interregional, intergenerational and global dialogue;

(f) Dialogue on Indigenous platforms established within United Nations entities;

(g) Thematic dialogue on the financing of Indigenous Peoples’ work and participation across the multilateral and regional system.

6. Future work of the Permanent Forum, including issues considered by the Economic and Social Council, the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and emerging issues.

7. Provisional agenda of the twenty-fifth session of the Permanent Forum.

8. Adoption of the report of the Permanent Forum on its twenty-fourth session.

Documents

Documents submitted by the Secretariat of the UNPFII:

E/C.19/2025/L.1 Programme of Work AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/4 Report of the international expert group meeting on the theme “The rights of Indigenous Peoples, including those in voluntary isolation and initial contact in the context of critical minerals” AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/2 System-wide action plan for ensuring a coherent approach to achieving the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: implementation by the United Nations system AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

Documents prepared by Members of the UNPFII:

E/C.19/2025/6 The rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of critical minerals to ensure a just transition, by Hindou Oumarou
Ibrahim and Hannah McGlade AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/7 Impact of colonization and armed conflicts on Indigenous Peoples’ rights: the imperative of peacebuilding, by Hanieh Moghani, Hannah McGlade and Geoffrey Roth AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/5 Evaluating institutional structures to improve the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples globally: the Indigenous determinants of health measurement instrument, by Geoffrey Roth AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/3 International financial architecture and the rights of
Indigenous Peoples, by Darío José Mejía Montalvo AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

Conference Room Papers

CRP1 The status of Indigenous women and their role in the 30-year review of the implementation of the BeijingDeclaration and Platform for Action- EN

CRP2 Information Note submitted by the International Indian Treaty Council, Indigenous Peoples Organization- EN

Responses to the questionnaire submitted by the UN system and other Inter-governmental organizations