A/HRC/24/26 A. United Nations Indigenous Peoples Partnership Initiative 6. The United Nations Indigenous Peoples Partnership Initiative (UNIPP) was officially launched in New York in May 2011. This joint initiative between OHCHR, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was launched as a response to a recommendation by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to strengthen partnerships for the promotion and implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights through joint country programmes. 7. OHCHR has been co-chairing the Policy Board of UNIPP and worked closely with the indigenous experts of the Board to ensure that United Nations entities involved not only combine their respective efforts and expertise but also work in true partnership with States and, crucially, with indigenous peoples. As equal partners, indigenous experts made sure that all UNIPP country programmes are not merely about indigenous peoples, but also designed and implemented with their participation. 8. UNIPP implementation started in 2012 with six United Nations joint programmes in Bolivia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nicaragua and Republic of Congo as well as through a regional programme in Southeast Asia. These programmes are firmly rooted in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ILO Convention No. 169 (1989) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries and other key standards and they reflect the findings of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, treaty bodies and other human rights mechanisms. 9. The Annual Progress Report on the Implementation of the United Nations-Indigenous Peoples Partnership (UNIPP) issued in May 2013 shows that, despite its recent launch, UNIPP is already having an impact. It has increased cooperation between United Nations partners and prompted more inclusive working methods, with indigenous peoples as key partners. UNIPP has also contributed to capacity-building and to the establishment of inclusive dialogue and consultative mechanisms between governments and indigenous peoples. Moreover, it has supported the development of new national legislation to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. UNIPP has also prompted United Nations partners to come together coherently, guided by the principles set forth in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 169 (1989) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. 10. For example, in the Republic of Congo, UNIPP contributed to the development of seven Governmental decrees to facilitate the implementation of the law on indigenous peoples in July 2012. This is the first law in Africa devoted to indigenous peoples, and the decrees aim to ensure its full implementation in key thematic areas, such as the protection of traditional knowledge, cultural heritage and sacred sites of indigenous communities as well as in access to education and health services. In Nicaragua, the UNIPP programme has already created a new space for dialogue between indigenous peoples and authorities and enhanced understanding on the right of indigenous peoples to consultation through a series of capacity-building activities. The strengthening of the participation and the voice of indigenous peoples in matters that directly affect them is also at the heart of concrete advances made through the UNIPP programme in Bolivia. 11. In South-East Asia, UNIPP is implemented through a series of regional activities promoting effective strategies to protect indigenous peoples’ right to their forest lands and natural resources. National consultations were held in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. In November 2012, in collaboration with the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, UNIPP organized the Asia Regional Preparatory meeting in preparation for the upcoming World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. The full progress report on UNIPP status of implementation is available at the MPTF Office Gateway. 4