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Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
First Session
Agenda Item 5, General Debate
Statement by Tonya Gonnella Frichner
American Indian Law Alliance
May 17, 2002
 Thank
you Mr. Chairman and congratulations on your election. Greetings to our
Chiefs, Clanmothers, Elders, Women and Young People. Greetings to our
honored leaders of Indigenous Nations. Greetings to the distinguished
representatives of the United Nations agencies and the honored
representatives of Member States. With respect, I address you all,
especially the members of the Permanent Forum who have agreed to assume a
great responsibility.
The American Indian Law Alliance is very proud to be part of this historic
first meeting of the Permanent Forum. As an organization with offices here
in New York City dedicated to serving the leadership of our traditional
nations and communities we have been honored to be of service in any way
that we can. We welcome you all to our territories.
We would like to thank the spiritual leader of the Haudenosaunee, Tadodaho
Sid Hill, for his remarks on the opening day, and we support his
recommendations. We agree that Indigenous Nations need to "sit as Nations
in the United Nations bodies, especially when the discussions concern our
lives and lands." We would also like to repeat the sentiment offered in
his speech that "We offer our hand in friendship to you in our commitment
to work together." It is in this spirit that we would respectfully make
the following recommendations to the members of the Permanent Forum.
Mr. Chairman, we request that the Permanent Forum submit the following
recommendations to ECOSOC:
- We would like to add our support to the
many voices that have called for the establishment of a separate
Secretariat for the Permanent Forum within the United Nations system. We
strongly believe that the Permanent Forum, in order to fulfill its
mandate effectively, needs its own separate Secretariat directly
associated with ECOSOC, and a secretariat which can independently
solicit funds for its work. We urge the members of the Permanent Forum,
to take the necessary steps for the establishment of the secretariat
during the current session, and decide on the location of the
secretariat and the procedure by which the staff of the secretariat is
appointed by the expert members of the Permanent Forum.
- With regard to the venue of the annual
sessions of the Permanent Forum, we would recommend that the Permanent
Forum members consider a regional rotation of the sessions between the 7
regions from which the Indigenous members of the Permanent Forum are
appointed. We suggest that the members of the Permanent Forum decide
from year to year in which region the following session will be held.
- We agree with everyone who has stated
that the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should be
looked at as a complementary framework for the Permanent Forum. The
Permanent Forum has a mandate to advise ECOSOC on Indigenous issues
relating to economic and social development, culture, the environment,
education, health and human rights, and the Draft Declaration represents
the minimum standard of Indigenous Peoples’ rights related to these
issues. In particular, the Draft Declaration endorses the right of
Indigenous Peoples to self-determination and respect for our treaties,
agreements and other constructive arrangements with States - rights
which are essential for our survival and development. We call for the
urgent adoption of the Draft Declaration before the end of the Decade in
2004, so that the Permanent Forum can begin to work within the framework
of the Declaration. The Declaration should be followed by an
International Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and we urge
the Permanent Forum to address this.
- We welcome the new constructive dialogue
between the Permanent Forum and UN agencies which we have witnessed over
the past days, and we support the strengthening of this dialogue. In
order for the members of the Permanent Forum to be able to engage in
informed and meaningful dialogue, they urgently need to receive detailed
reports from the UN agencies on their programs for Indigenous Peoples,
including reports on the budgetary allocations for these programs.
- In order to be able to function
efficiently, the Permanent Forum also needs to secure a budget
proportionate to the scope of its mandate and we call upon the UN
General Assembly to provide sufficient funding for the Permanent Forum
from the regular budget of the United Nations. We are concerned that the
Fifth Committee of the General Assembly has not allocated a budget for
the Permanent Forum beyond 2003. We recognize that the Fifth Committee
will not meet to determine the next biennium budget until 2004.
Therefore, we request that the Permanent Forum recommend that ECOSOC
request a meeting of the Fifth Committee, as early as possible, to
decide on the budget for the Permanent Forum to cover the period beyond
2003.
- Mr. Chairman, noting that tremendous
work has to be done this year in preparing the groundwork of the
Permanent Forum, we feel it is essential that the Forum meets before its
second session. We therefore call for funding to be allocated for an
inter-sessional meeting.
- We would like to support our sister
Rigoberta Menchú Tum’s proposal to establish an independent fund for the
Permanent Forum. In this context, we suggest that the members of the
Permanent Forum recommend that ECOSOC make a request to the UN
Secretary-General that Rigoberta Menchú Tum and Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper,
Haudenosaunee be appointed as Goodwill Ambassadors for the Permanent
Forum.
- The American Indian Law Alliance
supports the call for a World Summit on Indigenous Peoples at the end of
the International Decade on the World’s Indigenous Peoples, to review
and evaluate the achievements of the Decade. As our brother Chief
Matthew Coon Come stated, the establishment of the Permanent Forum is
the most significant achievement of the Decade to date. However, much
remains to be done. The goals of the Decade are far from being
fulfilled, and to make sure that the momentum that is gathering is not
lost, a second Decade needs to be launched.
- Noting that the Permanent Forum and the
Working Group on Indigenous Populations have their own respective
mandates, we urge the members of the Permanent Forum to put an emphasis
on establishing strong mutual relationships with the Working Group on
Indigenous Populations. Urgent attention needs to be given to the
question on how they can best supplement each other and work together
effectively. Noting further, that the Working Group has not completed
its mandate, we strongly support the continuing existence of the Working
Group on Indigenous Populations.
- We endorse the recommendation of the
Committee on Indigenous Health, that the Permanent Forum recommend that
the newly established Inter-Agency Support Group, under the joint
auspices of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and
UNIFEM, convene a meeting with Indigenous women to begin the urgent task
of addressing the health of Indigenous women.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, we wish you and the Forum a successful year of
work and success during your tenure of office.
Danayto.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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