The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, together with other member agencies of the Philippine delegation, will join the 23rd Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on 15 April 2024 to 26 April 2024 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), established on 28 July 2000, is a high-level advisory body mandated to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights. Specifically, the UNPFII serves as (a.) a platform for raising awareness and promoting activities related to Indigenous Issues within the system of the United Nations; (b.) an advisory body that promotes and ensures the full application of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); (c.) an advisory body that prepares and disseminates information on indigenous issues; and (d.) an advisory body that provides expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the Council, as well as to programs, funds and agencies of the United Nations, through ECOSOC.

For its 23rd session, UNPFII will focus on the theme, ‘Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Self-determination in the Context of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Emphasizing the Voices of Indigenous Youth’. The sessions will discuss the six mandated areas of the Permanent Forum (economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health, and human rights), with reference to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

To know more about the UNPFII and to witness NCIP’s full participation in the 23rd Session, please tune in to the United Nations Live telecast.