Agenda Item 9: Draft Agenda for the 11th Session of the Permanent Forum
Statement by Megan Davis, member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
I wanted to reiterate the comments of my colleague Alvaro Pop.
As you all know, we now have a significantly new composition of the Permanent Forum.
However, each of the members have a long history of involvement in the work ofadvancing Indigenous human rights in a broad range of issues as well as domestic and international venues.
At our recent, Permanent Forum pre-sessional meeting we discussed the theme for forthcoming eleventh session, which was identified as the Doctrine of Discovery: its enduring impact on indigenous peoples and the right to redress for past conquests (articles 28 and 37 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).
In regard to this proposed theme, the Permanent Forum members firmly agreed that we intend to be forward looking by emphasizing and re-defining the future of Indigenous and state relations and redress.
Such initiatives, consistent with the right of self-determination and couched in terms of increased Indigenous political participation in relation to constitutional, legislative, and domestic policy change, reconciliation, and all other methods to re-define Indigenous/State relations.
Such an approach is an equally important lens through which to understand the Doctrine of Discovery and our collective effort to develop a vision of the future for implementation of the UN Declaration, and our respective attempts to promote international peace and security for Indigenous peoples.
