Organization of the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 69th Session of the General Assembly, to Be Known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples

A/RES/66/296View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 66a Rights of indigenous peoples, published in 2012.

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 subjects

Conferences Human Rights Indigenous Peoples

What’s in this document?

25 operative paragraphs

Decides that the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples shall be held on 22 September 2014 and on the afternoon of 23 September 2014 in New York;

Encourages all Member States to consider being represented at the World Conference at the level of Head of State or Government;

Decides that the organizational arrangements for the World Conference shall be as follows:

The World Conference will be composed of two plenary meetings in the form of an opening and a closing session, three interactive round-table discussions and one interactive panel discussion, with the opening meeting beginning at 9 a.m. on 22 September 2014, followed, in the afternoon, by two round-table discussions taking place simultaneously;

The speakers at the opening meeting will be the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Heads of State or Government or high-level representatives of Member States from each regional group, the Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and three representatives of indigenous peoples who will be proposed by indigenous peoples and subsequently designated by the President of the Assembly after consultations with Member States;

The round-table discussions and the interactive panel discussion will be co-chaired by one Member State and one representative of indigenous peoples who will be proposed by indigenous peoples and subsequently designated by the President of the General Assembly after consultations with Member States;

The Chair of the Permanent Forum, the Chair-Rapporteur of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples will be invited to participate in the interactive panel discussion;

The proceedings of the round-table discussions and interactive panel discussion will be webcast;

The co-chairs of the round-table discussions and the panel discussion will present summaries of the discussions at the closing plenary meeting;

To promote interactive and substantive dialogue, participation in the round-table and interactive panel discussions will include Member States, observers and representatives of entities of the United Nations system, indigenous peoples, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions;

Organizations and institutions of indigenous peoples interested in participating in the World Conference, and whose aims and purposes are in conformity with the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, should be invited to submit applications for accreditation to the Secretariat through an open and transparent procedure, in accordance with the established practice for the accreditation of representatives of organizations and institutions of indigenous peoples, which will provide for timely and comprehensive information on the participation of such organizations and institutions of indigenous peoples for consideration by Member States;

The President of the General Assembly shall draw up a list of representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council who may participate in the World Conference;

The President of the General Assembly shall draw up a list of representatives of other relevant non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, national human rights institutions and the private sector who may participate in the World Conference, submit the proposed list to Member States for their consideration on a non-objection basis and bring the list to the attention of the Assembly;

Encourages Member States to consider including representatives of indigenous peoples in their delegations to the World Conference;

Encourages participation of indigenous women, young people, older persons and persons with disabilities in the World Conference;

Encourages United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, and regional commissions of the United Nations, in accordance with their mandates, actively to engage in the process leading to the World Conference;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to organize, no later than June 2014, an informal interactive hearing with representatives of indigenous peoples and representatives of entities of the United Nations system, academic institutions, national human rights institutions, parliamentarians, civil society and non-governmental organizations, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the present resolution, to provide valuable input into the preparatory process for the World Conference;

Encourages Member States actively to participate in the interactive hearing to facilitate the best possible interaction and dialogue between Member States and representatives of indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations;

Decides that the World Conference shall result in a concise, action-oriented outcome document, and requests the President of the General Assembly to prepare a draft text, on the basis of consultations with Member States and indigenous peoples and by taking into account the views emerging from the preparatory process and the interactive hearing referred to in paragraph 7 above, and to convene inclusive and open informal consultations at an appropriate date to enable sufficient consideration by Member States and agreement by the General Assembly before its formal action at the high-level meeting;

Also decides that the action-oriented outcome document should contribute to the realization of the rights of indigenous peoples, pursue the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesError: Reference source not found and promote the achievement of all internationally agreed development goals;

Encourages Member States and indigenous peoples to disseminate the results of international, regional or thematic conferences organized by them as widely as possible in order to contribute to the preparations for the World Conference;

Requests the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with Member States and representatives of indigenous peoples, to finalize the organizational arrangements for the World Conference, including the definition of the specific themes for the round-table discussions and the interactive panel discussion, the possible inclusion of an opening ceremony involving indigenous peoples, taking into account the relevant provisions of the present resolution and the inclusive process for the discussion of the outcome document, and the identification of the chairs of the round-table discussions and panel discussion, taking into account the level of representation and adequate geographical representation;

Decides to expand the mandate of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations so that it can assist, in an equitable manner, representatives of indigenous peoples, organizations, institutions and communities to participate in the World Conference, including in the preparatory process, in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations;

Urges Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to continue to contribute to the Voluntary Fund, and invites indigenous organizations and private institutions and individuals to do likewise;

Encourages Member States, organizations and institutions of indigenous peoples, entities of the United Nations system, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and others to actively support activities and events of indigenous peoples in preparation for the World Conference and to organize side events and other relevant thematic and cultural activities in New York that would add to the value and visibility of the Conference.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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