Welcome to the United Nations
Addressee: Inter Agency Support Group - IASG
Full Text
The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiative taken by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the secretariat of the Permanent Forum to convene a first expert meeting on the nexus between indigenous peoples and migration and endorses the recommendations of that meeting and requests further inter-agency cooperation and collaboration regarding data collection and case studies on indigenous peoples and migration, in particular the creation of a task force to specifically address migration issues of indigenous peoples within the existing Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues for the Permanent Forum. Such a task force could assist with studies by indigenous leaders and experts and promote capacity-building projects dealing with the migration of indigenous peoples.
Responses
IOM became joined the IASG in 2006 and will consider the creation of a task force within IASG.
a) IOM notes the Permanent Forum’s endorsement of the recommendations from the joint report of IOM and the SPFII on the Expert Workshop on Indigenous Peoples and Migration: Challenges and Opportunities held in Geneva on 6 and 7 April 2006 (E/C.19/2006/CRP.5). In this regard, in 2006 IOM joined the IASG on Indigenous Issues and will further consider the recommendation of the workshop that a task force be created within the Support Group to specifically address migration issues of indigenous peoples. Such a task force could ensure the participation of indigenous leaders and experts engaged with migration topics and promote capacity-building projects dealing with the migration of indigenous peoples. (b) Some of the experts’ recommendations included the need to inject a much-needed perspective of indigenous peoples at the 2006 High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, which indeed did include the participation of a representative of the Permanent Forum. In addition, issues affecting indigenous peoples were addressed during the High-level Dialogue’s informal interactive hearings, where non-governmental organizations, civil society and private sector actors included indigenous leaders. A particular case was the participation of a representative of the Cultural Conservation Act from Rwanda, who had also been a participant at the IOM/SPFII workshop. (c) The Expert Workshop on Indigenous Peoples and Migration highlighted the impact of migration on indigenous communities, noting that such impact could be collective rather than individual and could have stronger consequences for indigenous peoples’ cultures than for those of any other group. The positive potential of indigenous migration was also discussed. In this regard, it was noted that the community organizations of many indigenous peoples might help enhance the impact of remittances and might also aid in the transfer of skills and their circulation throughout the entire community. When they do migrate out of their communities, indigenous peoples can promote their indigenous social and cultural capital in their destination countries or communities, at the same time furthering attention to, and knowledge of and interest in, indigenous peoples. For indigenous peoples, particularly in a migration context, there is a need for the implementation of international law and for indigenous peoples themselves to participate and have a voice in matters that may lead to their own migration or the migration of others to their lands.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 5 (2006)
Area of Work
