Published: April 12, 2023

UNPFII 2023The theme for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) Twenty-Second Session, taking place April 17 through April 28, is “Indigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change: a rights-based approach.” 

Among a variety of side events and related programming at UNPFII 2023, First Peoples Worldwide presents a conversation that highlights Indigenous-led free, prior and informed consent priorities for the private sector, and a training for Indigenous leaders that builds capacity for Indigenous Peoples to activate shareholder advocacy. In addition, the Securing Indigenous Peoples Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition highlights Indigenous Peoples’ rights protection in the global increase of transition mineral extraction. 

See below for more information and to register, and find the full list of UNPFII side events here. Events are held in-person at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Select events in the Indigenous Media Zone will be broadcast via Facebook.

SALT Workshop: Protecting Territorial Health and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples through Shareholder Advocacy 
Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 4:30-5:45 pm ET - REGISTER

Location: Room CR-5, United Nations Headquarters, 405 East 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10017.

Shareholder advocacy and investor-led engagement are potent tools for Indigenous Peoples to influence development projects that threaten their lands and livelihood or exacerbate the effects of climate change on Indigenous communities. Shareholder advocacy is a critical option especially when legal or political remedies are unavailable.

This Shareholder Advocacy Leadership Training (SALT) workshop offers practical tools for Indigenous leaders to pursue market-based advocacy options to protect communities, resources, sacred places, and cultural practices. Participants learn how to mobilize strategies to target companies proposing harmful projects, examine case studies that make the business case for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and hear directly from Indigenous and investor leadership with a proven track record of creating positive outcomes through corporate engagement. 

This side event of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Twenty-Second Session is presented by First Peoples Worldwide, which has worked alongside Indigenous Peoples and investors to support rights-centered shareholder advocacy for over two decades, this workshop is for all advocates working to build the business case for free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).

CO-SPONSORS: The Gwich’in Steering Committee and Cultural Survival.

Indigenous Leadership: Transmitting FPIC Priorities to the Private Sector
Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 11:00 am-Noon ET -
REGISTER

Location: Indigenous Media Zone, UN Correspondents Association Room (3rd floor, Secretariat building, S-310), United Nations Headquarters, 405 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017.

This event will be broadcast from the Indigenous Media Zone: facebook.com/culturalsurvival 

Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as enumerated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples encompasses Indigenous Peoples’ participatory and decision-making rights to projects that impact their communities, resources, and territories. Indigenous Peoples define FPIC per their priorities, expectations, and community standards, which must be primary considerations when the private sector proposes projects that impact Indigenous Peoples. However, investors and companies often cite a lack of information on FPIC as a reason to limit Indigenous input on projects or to proceed without consent.     

Taking place in tandem with the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues' Twenty-second Session, this conversation highlights FPIC as it has been defined and implemented by Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous leadership from various geographical regions share their experiences, discuss practices and protocols that have worked for their communities, and explain how they have navigated the action and policies of corporations and State actors to ensure their rights and well-being are protected. This roundtable will be broadcast so interested investors can hear directly from Indigenous leaders about their experiences and expertise on FPIC.  

Co-sponsored by First Peoples Worldwide and Cultural Survival, this roundtable takes place at the Indigenous Media Zone during the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues' Twenty-second Session. For those unable to attend in person, this event will be broadcast live at facebook.com/culturalsurvival. Please register to receive follow-up materials.

With Our Partners

Securing the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Transition to a Green Economy
Monday, April 17, 2023, 3:00-4:15 pm ET

Location, Room CR-F, United Nations Headquarters, 405 East 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10017.

Hosted by Cultural Survival, First Peoples Worldwide, Batani Foundation, Earthworks, and Society for Threatened Peoples, who compose the global, Indigenous-led Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition, this panel spotlights leaders on the frontlines of defending Indigenous Peoples’ right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent as they face an increase in transition mineral extraction. Indigenous leaders will discuss how an increase in mining for transition minerals puts Indigenous Peoples’ and all people’s health, as well as the health of their territories and the planet as a whole, at risk. It will map the global landscape of transition mineral development and share pathways towards a just transition, grounded in a rights-based approach, that protects the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

CO-SPONSORS: First Peoples Worldwide, Batani Foundation, Earthworks, Society for Threatened Peoples, and Cultural Survival

More on this and several other events from Cultural Survival here.

SIRGE UNPFII 2023