FAO at the 21st Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
These Takeaways from the 21st Session of UNPFII were prepared by FAO New York in consultation with FAO PSUI: https://www.fao.org/new-york/news/detail/en/c/1506511/
25 April, New York – The 21st Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) convened this morning at the UN General Assembly Hall. Hundreds of Indigenous leaders and representatives from over 5 000 Indigenous Peoples from across the globe will convene from today through 6 May to discuss, exchange ideas, and address current challenges in ensuring the full realization of the rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide. This 21st session has as its priority theme ‘Indigenous peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence including free, prior and informed consent.’ Watch the recording of the opening session.
As the first item on the agenda, the UNPFII appointed Darío José Mejía Montalvo of the Zenú people of San Andrés Sotavento, Colombia, as Chair of this 21st session. Speaking on the climate crisis our world faces, he said: “We share a holistic relationship with nature, where rights are not anthropocentric. Mother Earth allows people to have certain rights but reserves others, as a way of maintaining balance and harmony”. The FAO delegation taking part at the UNPFII, led by Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, the Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, will share the latest FAO initiatives on the session’s priority theme, including on the promotion and preservation of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems.
26 April, New York – At today's side event 'FPIC for climate action: Acknowledging Indigenous Peoples as guardians of biodiversity,' FAO, together with UNEP and the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, convened with a wide array of stakeholders and partners to identify challenges and opportunities in implementing the right to free, prior and informed consent when working with Indigenous Peoples in the context climate action post-COP26. The event brought together representatives from the Government of Canada, the European Commission, UNPFII, the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), among others.
"Undertaking projects and interventions in the 21st century without asking the people that live in those lands and territories – Indigenous or non-Indigenous – is unacceptable," urged Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit. "We created the FPIC Donor Task Force because we realized that there is a collective challenge for organizations in ensuring an appropriate FPIC implementation," he added, stressing that meaningful participation in planning, implementation, and monitoring is key to ensuring the sustainability and accountability of interventions. Echoing these words was Jocelyn Brown Hall, Director of the FAO Liaison Office for North America. “FPIC is so important that in the case of FAO it is not possible to implement the FAO Policy on Indigenous Peoples unless FPIC is adequately implemented,” she said. Read more.
28 April, New York – Today's side event 'Indigenous Peoples' biocentric restoration: How Indigenous Peoples' food and knowledge systems inform cosmogonic restoration processes' touched on the vital role and potential of Indigenous Peoples' food and knowledge systems in informing global debates on biodiversity conservation and sustainable agrifood systems. Speaking on the urgency to take action now was René Castro, Advisor to the FAO Director-General: " “We are facing the worst climate crisis in history, and we are running out of time. Climate change is a threat multiplier that worsens hunger, food production, poverty, and other challenges”.
Adding to the discussion was Amy Duchelle, Climate Change and Resilience Team Leader in FAO's Forestry Division. “As international organizations, we should never talk about forest-based climate action without putting secure rights and livelihoods for Indigenous Peoples at the core of that,” she said, pointing to the importance of identifying innovative financing mechanisms that truly reach Indigenous Peoples as key guardians of world forests.
Echoing the calls to action from Indigenous voices at the event was Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit. “The magnitude of challenges and speed of changes we face is accelerating. We need to work collectively, across concepts and cultures in processes of co-creation of knowledge. This is what Indigenous Peoples have been doing for centuries, and we have to learn from them," he said. Read more.
29 April, New York – Closing the first week of the UNPFII was today's side event 'Addressing Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples in SDG 14 and the Blue Economy,' organized by The Danish Institute of Human Rights and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), with support from FAO. Discussions centered on the importance of the right to lands, territories, and natural resources for the millions of Indigenous Peoples who depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods, food security, and nutrition. The event served as a timely conversation as part of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA 2022). Watch the recording.
Throughout the week, the FAO delegation at UNPFII met with Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, UN agencies, and Member States around the establishment of new collaborative efforts to advancing the recognition of Indigenous Peoples' food and knowledge systems. Conversations centered on how these systems can contribute to global challenges such as climate change, the transformation of our agrifood systems, and the eradication of hunger and malnutrition.
29 April, New York – Also today, Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, the Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, delivered remarks on behalf of FAO under UNPFII Agenda Item 4: Discussion on the six mandated areas of UNPFII. Speaking on the need to tap into collective efforts to respond to the competing sustainability challenges of our time, he touched on the Global Hub on Indigenous Peoples' food systems and its group of 20 indigenous and non-indigenous organizations.
"The Global Hub proved the world that Indigenous Peoples' evidence can change the way scientists and practitioners perceive Indigenous Peoples knowledge," he said, adding: "The recognition for the first time by scientists of Indigenous Peoples food systems as game changers for sustainability and resilience confirmed the power of the White/Wiphala paper in changing perceptions through collective efforts."
4 May, New York – Today saw the side event 'Launch of the Sustainable and Resilient Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems for Improved Nutrition digital toolbox,' organized by IFAD.The event launched a toolbox with guidelines for designing projects with Indigenous Peoples to improve their diets and nutrition, while leveraging local food biodiversity.
Participating at the event was Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, Team Leader of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, who touched on the importance of inclusive dialogue when leveraging Indigenous knowledge in rethinking our food systems, which must be interlinked with traditional knowledge, practices, languages, culture, and the environment. "Indigenous Peoples' food systems are game changers for sustainability and resilience," he said, adding that "we need to make sure that Indigenous Peoples' are represented at the project level, at the normative level, and at the policy discussion level".
5 May, New York – Today saw the last UNPFII side event with FAO participation, 'Collective and tenure rights for sustainable Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems in the context of the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) and the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) 2022'. Discussions centered around challenges and opportunities for the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights to lands, territories, and natural resources through the implementation of the VGGTs.
Delivering opening remarks was Benjamin Davis, Director of the FAO Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division. "Indigenous Peoples' are at the center of sustainable management of the world's forests, biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and diversity," he said, stressing how "today, more than ever, it's the moment to reaffirm the relevance of the VGGTs, particularly at the local level, in terms of collective action, to reaffirm our political will and support".
Echoing these words and outlining the way forward on collective tenure rights was Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, Team Leader of the FAO Indigenous Peoples' Unit. "Unless we learn from Indigenous Peoples' food systems and biocentric restoration, and we place them at the center of discussions, we'll have a disassociation between the normative framework and the reality of displacement and violence against them," he said.
Related links
- Visit the dedicated website of the 21st Session of the UNPFII.
- Access the full list of FAO engagements at the UNPFII here.
- Access the flagship report 'The Indigenous World 2022' released during UNPFII.
- Stay informed on FAO’s work with Indigenous Peoples, including on FAO’s work on free, prior, and informed consent.
- Follow @FAONewYork and @FAO Indigenous Peoples on Twitter for more!