"We must ensure the participation of indigenous peoples – women and men – in decision-making at all levels. This includes discussions on accelerating action towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and defining the post-2015 development agenda."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

2014 Theme: "Bridging the gap: implementing the rights of indigenous peoples"

The 2014 United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report, Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience, was just released on July 24, 2014. By identifying vulnerable communities and bolstering their ability to react to negative forces through collective action, governments stands to improve many of the human rights violations affecting Indigenous Peoples and marginalized groups around the world.

By Eric Michael Kelley

The United Nations General Assembly has put forth a zero draft resolution to be adopted on September 22nd, 2014. The draft outlines the goals and strategies that the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples hopes to achieve and implement.

Indigenous protesters are under threat by the Peruvian government after a law was passed that effectively gives the police the “license to kill” according to the Lima-based Instituto Libertad y Democracia.  The law grants: “members of the armed forces and the national police exemption from criminal responsibility if they cause injury or death, including through the use of guns or other weapons, while on duty.

Cultural Survival congratulates Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein in his appointment as the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. His term will begin starting September of 2014. Prince Zeid has been an Ambassador for Jordan to the United Nations for the last 10 years and he is proud to be the first High Commissioner to come from the Asian continent to represent the Arab and Muslim worlds. Prince Zeid has had a successful career contributing to the drafting of the elements for individual offenses such as genocide and war crimes.

By Sophia Mitrokostas

President Obama visited the Standing Rock Lakota reservation in Cannon Ball, North Dakota on June 13, 2014, taking part in Flag Day celebrations and addressing issues surrounding the experience of Native Americans in the US.

This was President’s first visit to a Native American reservation since first taking office in 2009 and is the first presidential visit to a reservation since Bill Clinton visited the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota in 1999. Obama visited the Crow reservation in Montana before his election to the White House.

Come learn about the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and how it can aid in your advocacy efforts and put pressure on the US government to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
We invite tribal members in preparation for the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Second Universal Periodic Review of the United States.

Friday, June 20, 2014
1:00pm-5:00pm
Harvard University Native American Program
14 Story Street, 4^th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138

Informal consultations on the Outcome Document for the high level plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly or the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples commenced June 3, 2014 at the UN Headquarters in New York.