A/HRC/41/22
recommended: effective outreach, awareness-raising and access to comprehensible
information; freedom of expression and assembly; protection of human rights and the rule
of law for citizen participation; support to capacity-building; and provision of funds and
resources for the participation and inclusion of indigenous peoples.
17.
Finally, she recalled the limited participation of indigenous peoples mainly in Latin
America and Africa due to the lack of awareness and funding. Indigenous peoples were
increasingly participating in different international settings, such as the high-level political
forum on sustainable development. Nevertheless, it was necessary to keep working to close
the gaps and to fully include indigenous peoples, and their perspectives and aspirations, in
the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
18.
Mr. Conde, Co-Chair of the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus and youth focal point
of the indigenous peoples major group, stated that the Caucus was born on the margins of
the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, it expanded under the Expert Mechanism on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was now part of the indigenous peoples major group.
Its objective was to promote the participation of indigenous youth of the seven sociocultural
regions. At the regional level, the Caucus and the major group, with the participation of the
Latin American Indigenous Youth Network, had worked on a report on the implementation
of the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean from the
perspective of indigenous peoples.2 The report had been presented at the high-level political
forum in 2018. It analysed the implementation of the Goals in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico,
Paraguay and Uruguay. It was written by indigenous youth and guided by indigenous elders.
19.
The report addressed the implementation of the Goals in the five countries
mentioned above through a human rights perspective and an intercultural approach. It
analysed the Goals through the lens of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, and its recommendations and conclusions objectively analysed the
persistent inequalities faced by indigenous peoples. The writing process was a challenge
due to the lack of disaggregated data. Nevertheless, the participation of indigenous leaders
and indigenous organizations enriched the report with first-hand information and
recommendations.
20.
Furthermore, Latin American States had taken significant steps in the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The five countries covered in the
report had established inter-institutional commissions to coordinate the implementation of
the Goals at the national level and developed working agendas within the government
structure. The efforts of those commissions to include indigenous peoples in the
implementation of the Goals had yet to pay off. This situation was due to the lack of access
to information on the Goals. There was an urgent need to develop a comprehensive
implementation framework for the Goals, including translation into indigenous languages
and world views.
21.
To conclude, Mr. Conde emphasized the importance of Goal 6 on clean water and
sanitation, and Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities. Both were scrutinized at the
high-level political forum in 2018. Concerning Goal 6, it was particularly important to
highlight that in some rural areas indigenous peoples lacked access to potable water
services. However, they had access to rivers, lakes, springs and creeks, with which they had
a spiritual relationship. Those water sources were threatened by climate change and
resource extraction. Regarding Goal 11, migration towards cities was also affecting
indigenous peoples, particularly indigenous youth. Mr. Conde held that in order to achieve
the Goal an intercultural approach to cities should be considered.
22.
Ms. Silva, Director of the UNDP Office in Geneva, stated that the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development was a human rights-based agenda and that the Sustainable
Development Goals had substantial links to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples. The rights-based nature of the 2030 Agenda was reinforced by its
powerful pledge that no one should be left behind and the commitment to reach those left
furthest behind first.
2
4
Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y el Caribe, II Informe:
Situación de la Implementación de los ODS en América Latina y el Caribe desde la visión de los
pueblos indígenas (La Paz, 2018). Available at www.filac-info.org/informeods.pdf.
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