EMRIP 17th Session, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Item 9 - Enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the United Nations - NORWAY
Thank you Chair,
Norway is committed to protecting and promoting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their right to participate in all decision-making concerning themselves.
We are proud to have consistently and proactively supported the processes of enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ participation in relevant UN meetings, including in the Human Rights Council.
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Significant progress was made when Indigenous Peoples’ representatives, from the seven sociocultural regions, participated in the interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur [on the rights of Indigenous Peoples] and with the EMRIP, in the Council’s 57th session in 2024.
This included the Sami Parliament of Norway, which for the first time participated in the Council, in its own capacity as the elected representative institution of the Sami people of my country.
We commend the core group of the resolution on “Human rights and Indigenous Peoples”, Mexico and Guatemala, for their leadership and encourage further steps to enhance participation.
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Norway was pleased to participate actively in the Council’s intersessional meetings, on concrete ways to enhance the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the work of the Council, in July and October 2024.
We thank the State co-facilitators, Canada and Australia, and Indigenous co-facilitator Binota Moy Dhamai, for these constructive meetings with broad participation from many States.
Having endorsed the report from these meetings, we agree that the Council should use its conclusions and recommendations to take further action at the Council’s next session.
Indigenous Peoples have a long history of contributing to and enhancing the work of the UN in tackling global and national challenges. The expertise, perspectives and contributions of Indigenous Peoples are essential to the Human Rights Council’s work.
Norway will continue to support establishing a new, separate accreditation status for Indigenous Peoples. We support an accreditation process rooted in UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and accreditation principles as outlined in the report.
Thank you.