The statement was delivered by Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, at the Plenary of the 25th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), on the 24 April 2026.

Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a fundamental collective right of Indigenous Peoples. This right is the basis for the implementation of the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP): the most significant milestone in the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. On the eve of UNDRIP’s 20th anniversary, it is more important than ever to recognize FPIC as the starting point for just and meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples.

On the eve of UNDRIP’s 20th anniversary, it is more important than ever to recognize FPIC as the starting point for just and meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples. Respecting FPIC is the only way to work together with consent, putting Indigenous Peoples at the centre of the discussion and decision-making. FAO is well aware of this: since 2010, FPIC has been incorporated in its Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and, since 2015, the Organisation has made FPIC compulsory in any projects that have an impact on Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous nomadic pastoralists are key actors for food security, biodiversity conservation and for combatting desertification. Their food and knowledge systems are based on millennia of experience and deep connection to the territories they wisely roam. They produce abundant, nutritious, and healthy foods in every region of the world. Nevertheless, their rights are often not respected, endangering their ways of life, knowledge and at times their very survival.

The workshop was held in Accra, Ghana, from 7 to 10 April 2026. With this event, Ghana is taking the lead in the profiling of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems in Africa. It is also the first time that the Indigenous Peoples’ Biocentric Restoration Global Programme lands in this socio-cultural region, where it projects to expand its activities in the future. 

For the first time, FAO convenes a global workshop to integrate Indigenous Peoples’ Fire Management into the Global Programme on Indigenous Peoples’ Biocentric Restoration, bringing together 50 knowledge holders, elders, women and youth from six out of seven socio-cultural regions at the Tama Páez Indigenous Reserve “La Gabriela”

Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a fundamental collective right of Indigenous Peoples. In 2019, FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit established the FPIC Donors Task Force to improve the implementation of this right on the ground. This Task Force met in FAO in February 2026 to assess the status of FPIC implementation and its challenges, paving the way for improvements in how this right is understood and operationalized.

In 2021, a pilot project in Sanikiluaq, an Inuit Indigenous Peoples’ community in Nunavut, was able to locate previously undiscovered fishing locations thanks to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) model that integrates traditional Indigenous Peoples knowledge, ...

The Indigenous Peoples’ Advisory Group is now launching a call for applications for the “We support HOPE” group: an Indigenous Peoples’ vision of the world. The group aims at gathering experience, knowledge, audiovisual materials and artifacts from like-minded museums and collections.  

The 24th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) started at the UN General Assembly Hall, New York, on 21 April 2025 and lasted until the 2 May. Hundreds of Indigenous leaders and representatives from across the globe convened to discuss and address current issues, opportunities and challenges that affect Indigenous Peoples’ lives worldwide. FAO took part to the discussions and contributed meaningfully to the UNPFII, reiterating its commitment to the recognition, respect and promotion of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and strengthening its collaboration with the Forum and its Members.

Climate and health policies have often overlooked the needs and voices of Indigenous Peoples, including their adaptive resilience and preparedness mechanisms. But a transformative side-event that took place on the 23 April, during the 2025 Session of the UNPFII, shed light on ...

Guaranteeing Indigenous Peoples’ right to mobility is essential to preserve their food and knowledge systems, as well as biodiversity and food security. This is the main message from the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems’ side-event that took place on the 22nd of April in the framework of the 24th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), which was based on the upcoming Global-Hub collective paper on Mobility within Indigenous Peoples' strategies for food, livelihoods and territoriality, and its importance for biodiversity conservation. 

Indigenous Peoples’ representatives from all seven socio-cultural regions of the world gathered in the UN Headquarters’ General Assembly Hall to advance on the work on Indigenous issues. This year UNPFII will focus on 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”

The 24th Session of the Forum on Indigenous Issues will convene, in person from 21 April to 2 May 2025, under 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”.  

The Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems is gaining momentum as it welcomes new members and deepens its pool of expertise to feed into current global discussions on food security, nutrition, and the sustainable transformation of food systems: elements at the centre of the work of the World Committee on Food Security (CFS).

In a groundbreaking moment, the 20th Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 24 to 28 March 2025, marked a historic step toward inclusive participation of Indigenous Peoples in global governance for agricultural biodiversity. For the first time in the Commission’s history, Indigenous Peoples delivered a statement during the plenary session, which led to the formal recognition of the importance of their inclusion in the Commission’s meetings and decision-making processes.

On the eve of the International Women’s Day, FAO took steps forward with the leadership of Thompson Rivers University (TRU) – Knowledge Makers Program and the Indigenous Women authors of the Special Edition of the Knowledge Makers Journal, Volume 8 publication.  The 7^th of March 2025 marked an important moment for FAO to recognize, value and uplift the knowledge and research of Indigenous Women for a better future for food systems and the planet. 

On the margins of the second session of the COP in Rome, PSUI has been pleased to strengthen its collaborations with Indigenous and political bodies to advance on the new CBD agenda

During CBD COP 16.2, the Indigenous Peoples Unit (PSUI) of the FAO held a meeting with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), representing all seven socio-cultural regions of the world. The meeting ...