PFII
Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues
President: Axl Paris Ortega Rodríguez
Chair: Luis Daniel Apolo Díaz Cervantes, María Fernanda Granados Martínez, Matías González Islas y Lilly Mariana Juárez Contreras
Topic A) Strategies to Stop the Feminal Genital Mutilation as a Mechanism of Social Control over Indigenous Girls and Women in Rural Communities of Eastern Africa with Limited State Presence.
Topic B) Measures to mitigate the use of indigenous territories as sacrifice zones, focusing on extreme violence and structural failures in the protection of rights in the Darién Gap.
Background and Faculties
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) is an advisory body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), established in 2000 to address the main issues affecting “Indigenous people within the United Nations” system. It was created to examine matters related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights; while promoting respect for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Since 2002, it has met annually, usually at United Nations Headquarters in New York, becoming a key space for the promotion of Indigenous peoples’ rights. The Forum is composed of 16 independent experts who serve in their personal capacity, 8 are nominated by governments and 8 by indigenous organizations, and their role is to provide advice and make recommendations.
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Organizing awareness campaigns and public events to highlight indigenous issues such as land rights, access to education, health services, and environmental protection;
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Promote and support the implementation of human rights standards related to Indigenous people, within national and international aspects;
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Raise visibility of Indigenous issues through reports, sessions, and awareness activities;
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Facilitate dialogue between Indigenous representatives, governments, and international organizations, to address concerns and build cooperative solutions;
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Monitoring progress and identifying gaps in the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;