Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 05 | May 2017
General Assembly marks 10th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The General Assembly Hall at UNHQ was a place of celebration on 25 April 2017 as the President of the General Assembly (PGA) convened a meeting to mark the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). H.E. Mr. Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Vice-President of the General Assembly, called on the international community to renew its commitment to indigenous peoples.
Main topics raised were the achievements made since the adoption of UNDRIP and the challenges that remain. Examples of achievements include increased political participation of indigenous peoples to advance their rights and the emergence of national laws and policies based on the principles and norms contained in UNDRIP. Examples of challenges that remain, arising from the gap between rhetoric and practice, include economic marginalisation, fragmentation in legal frameworks and the criminalisation of activities involved in their livelihoods and of indigenous peoples advocates and defenders. Specifically vulnerable to these challenges include indigenous women, youth and indigenous persons with disabilities.
The 2030 Agenda is an effective platform to further advance and achieve the implementation of UNDRIP. Integrating indigenous peoples into development programmes is a good opportunity for Member States to achieve the SDGs and will simultaneously improve the situation of indigenous peoples on the ground, closing the existing gap between rhetoric and practice
To read more about the high level event click here.
Learn more about the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues here.
Watch! United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Conversation with Experts
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Ahead of its anniversary on 13 September, UN DESA’s Division of Social Policy and Development (DSPD) gathered experts for a three-day meeting on 25-27 January 2017 to discuss achievements made and challenges that remain in realising the UN Declaration at the global, regional and national levels.
In light of the anniversary, we asked a number of experts attending the meeting, where the UNDRIP has made an impact, and how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are making a difference.
The experts interviewed include: Victoria Tauli-Corpus (Philippines), UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Chad), Coordinator of the Association des Femmes Peules Autochtones du Tchad; Albert Barume (Democratic Republic of Congo), Chair of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and Leslie Malezer (Australia), Expert Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
World Health Day 2017
Breaking Ground and Ending Stigma on Depression #Letstalk
Three hundred million people suffer from depression at present, making it the single largest contributor to disease and disability. When untreated and at its worst, depression causes people to commit suicide and young people are particularity vulnerable. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds is suicide. Nevertheless, depression remains a stigmatized issue that people struggle to talk about.
On April 7 the WHO held their annual World Health Day event at the United Nations Secretariat. This year they highlighted depression and with an aim of breaking stigma by paying attention to the growing problems it causes to people’s general health. Naming the campaign, #Letstalk, the WHO is attacking stigma to create a world where people can talk about what troubles them.
Although this event described the deep hopelessness depression can cause people, WHO’s message on this World Health Day was one of hope. There are two facets to the #Letstalk campaign: firstly is the need to normalize talking about mental health and depression and eliminate the stigma, and secondly, allow people who suffer from depression to come forward and take their first steps towards treatment.
To read more about the event click here.
On 21 and 22 April, the United Nations Headquarters in New York hosted the 17th Infopoverty World Conference (IFC). Each year the IFC sets out to highlight the most innovative ways of eradicating poverty through technology. This year the IFC entitled, “Transferring knowledge and adequate technologies: The way to combat poverty and make the world safer,” intended to show the importance of sharing technological innovations, and thus knowledge, across all social levels as a way to end poverty.
The Director of UNDESA/DSPD, Ms. Daniela Bas, in an opening address stressed the importance of working together, achieving social justice, and leaving no one behind. The Division works on the topics of poverty eradication and marginalized groups such as persons with a disability, indigenous peoples, youth and the elderly. Technology is critical in offering solutions to social issues as it often bridges the divide between progress and social justice when it is accessible, inclusive, and sustainable.
To read more about the IFC click here.
Featured Stories
16th Session of the Committee of
Experts on Public Administration![]()
Ms. Daniela Bas, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development DESA, delivered remarks at the 16th session of CEPA, highlighting issues that arose from the 55th session of the Commission of Social Development (CSocD55). Ms. Bas recalled the Commission’s recognition of the progress that has been made in reducing absolute poverty, but also its concern that relative poverty was not reducing at the same rate.
To tackle this and existing inequalities, Ms. Bas reiterated CSocD55’s emphasis on better direct interventions such as redistributive policies and pro-poor growth strategies. The role of institutions was also highlighted by Ms. Bas, particularly their capacity to strengthen participation and voice, to cultivate social consensus for the aforementioned policies and strategies, and to ensure policy integration and coherence.
To read more about CEPA 16th session click here
![]()
Promoting Indigenous Youth Development to Achieve the 2030 Agenda
Promoting Indigenous Youth Development to Achieve the 2030 AgendaIndigenous youth are integral stakeholders of decision making processes at a local, national and global level. On the occasion of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the UN Focal Point on Youth (UNDESA/DSPD) co-sponsored a side event with the Permanent Missions of Australia and Ecuador to discuss how to enhance indigenous youth development efforts and policies in the framework of the 2030 Agenda.
Key issues discussed included the serious lack of disaggregated data and challenges faced by indigenous youth in areas of health, education and gender based violence. Good practices to enhance indigenous youth participation in Ecuador were discussed and indigenous youth were invited to collaborate with UNDESA/DSPD and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to ensure that they are not left behind.
To read more about the event click here.
Featured Publication
Social Development Brief
Leaving No One Behind? Mixed Success
The 2030 Agenda’s pledge to leave no one behind demands that progress towards the Agenda’s goals and targets be faster among the most disadvantaged social groups. Without quicker improvements among those who are lagging further behind, the systemic disparities described in the Report on the World Social Situation 2016 (United Nations, 2016) will not decline. While the data needed to monitor progress in all goals and targets for each group that is disadvantaged or at risk are not systematically available, the existing data illustrate the complexity of establishing whether some people are being left behind. Much depends on contexts and on the indicators used to assess progress.
Health inequalities between social groups, for instance, have evolved differently across countries, regions and by group. In Ghana, for example, great strides have been made in improving child health in the last two decades, however, in Peru, inequalities in child health are strong. Trends in other indicators do not necessarily mirror trends in child health, for example in Ghana, success in reducing disparities in child health is not echoed by inclusive improvements in access to electricity.
Multimedia Indigenous – Media Zone at UNPFII16
See more on DSPD’s Flickr and YouTube accounts
Upcoming Events
15 May: International Day of Families
21 May: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
23 May to 24 May: Afghan Disability Rights Conference (Washington DC)
Copyright ©2017 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Division for Social Policy and Development, All rights reserved.
Contact Us | Copyright | Terms of Use | social.un.org
All content provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only, is not endorsed by the United Nations, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. The United Nations makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the newsletter’s contents.