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Addressee: DESA, UNDP, UN system/UN agencies, Donor agencies, Member States
Full Text
Considering that indigenous peoples are empowered to assume leadership in governments at various levels, particularly at the local level, the Permanent Forum urges the United Nations system, including the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNDP and all other relevant agencies, with the support of Member States and donor agencies, to implement, before the convening of its next session, a platform for indigenous local-local cooperation and the establishment of a network of indigenous local governments for information exchange and capacity-building on public administration, local socio-economic governance and participatory approaches to facilitate the implementation of the goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the United Nations development agenda at the local level among indigenous peoples in all regions.
Responses
The Government of Bolivia reports: 47. To facilitate the participation of indigenous nations in elections, article 212 of
the new Constitution provides that “indigenous and aboriginal farming nations and peoples may elect their political representatives in the relevant forums, in accordance with their own electoral procedures”.
The Government of Honduras reports: 8. The Programme for the Comprehensive Development of Indigenous Peoples
(DIPA) (1689/SF-HO) offers assistance to Government agencies through its institutional strengthening component in order to meet the needs of indigenous peoples in a culturally relevant manner.9. A communications and dissemination strategy is being developed as part of the Comprehensive Development Programme in order, inter alia, to inform and build the capacity of indigenous peoples and civil servants, through the use of traditional andnon-traditional mechanisms and systems, within the national and international legalframework for the protection of the rights of indigenous and Afro-Honduranpeoples.
DESA reports: 28. In response to the recommendations made by the Permanent Forum at its seventh session addressed specifically to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (E/2008/43, para. 73), the Division for Sustainable Development has continued to strengthen and support the existing mechanisms that provide a platform for indigenous local-local cooperation and the establishment of a network of indigenous local governments for information exchange and capacity-building. The Division has also collaborated closely with other Department of Economic and Social Affairs colleagues to develop, fund and launch the Department’s Integrated Civil Society Organizations (iCSO) System3 to facilitate interactions among civil society organizations and the Department at all levels. The iCSO System is an online database that includes all non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, is also open to any interested civil society organizations that wish to provide information and can serve as a potential tool for collaboration and networking among civil society organizations at all levels. Indigenous peoples’ organizations and other non-governmental organizations working with, and for, indigenous and local communities can be selected as searchfields and identified based on location, regional scope, areas of activity and other data.
The Government of Nicaragua reports that the government issued a rResidential Decree through which a Special Development Regime (Régimen Especial de Desarrollo) was established for indigenous territories with a view to reducing poverty, improving access to health and education and protecting the environment, with active participation from the communities involved at all stages.
UNDP reports on a project to support local communities in the Chittagong HIll Tracts to pursue sustainable socio-economic development and poverty reduction, based on the principles of self-reliance, local participation, decentralized government and susteained peace. UNDP is also supporting the local government of Papua.
UNDP Mexico received $70,000 from the UNDP Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund to carry out the project entitled “Empowering indigenous peoples for local development”, which aims to promote accountability in local governments by increasing the capacity of indigenous communities to monitor the work of public institutions and their representatives.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 7 (2008)
Area of Work
