Human Rights Mechanisms

This spot outlines the recommendations made by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issue in 2013 on the importance of drawing attention to Indigenous issues in the media through journalism and other modes of communication. The UNPFII is a UN body responsible for bringing international attention to specific issues related to Indigenous Peoples’ health, human rights, economic and social development, environment, education and culture by making recommendations to UN member states and agencies.

This spot outlines the importance of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It is a forum made up of sixteen members that meets yearly to write reports and recommendations to advise states and UN agencies on important issues facing Indigenous Peoples. The forum focuses on general issues that are common to Indigenous Peoples such as health, violence against women and food sovereignty.

This spot outlines the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a UN committee made up of sixteen people that advises the UN on issues such as economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. At these meetings important issues facing Indigenous People are discussed and, if pre-registered, people outside the committee can attend and even present on specific issues.

This spot outlines the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 2007 endorsed by member countries of the United Nations. The main purpose of the declaration is to defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples by pressuring the governments of UN member countries to stop Indigenous rights violations. Though not legally binding, it provides an ethical framework for human rights with standards that can become bylaws and policies at the national and international level.

UN Special Rapporteur Vicky Tauli Corpuz discusses the international trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership which is being negotiated by Canada,The United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. She confirms that Indigenous Peoples must be consulted before these deals are negotiated.

Ben Sherman, of the Lakota Nation, discusses his work with the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance and his hopes to reach and engage more people through his organization, as well as the challenges facing the organization as it spreads to other parts of the world. 

Nina Cass, of New South Wales, Australia, discusses her work with Madala, a youth organization that helps Indigenous young people go to school as well as the issues facing the Indigenous Peoples in Australia such as the promotion of culture, relocation, discrimination, suicide, etc. and how she can help in her role. 

Les Malezer, of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, discusses the origins and goals of the expert mechanism and it's importance to the rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world.

Albert Deterville, Expert Mechanism representative of Latin American and the Caribbean, discusses the Expert Mechanism, as created by the UN, on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the process in which they aid the monitoring of rights in regions around the world.

Listen to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples speak about an incident in July 2015 in Southern Belize affecting the rights of the Maya people.

To learn more read: http://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/belize-unsr-victoria-tauli-corpuz-…