In a speech published Monday, UN Human Rights Council President Jürg Lauber highlighted the importance of facilitating more meaningful participation from Indigenous peoples within UN institutions, invoking obligations to uphold the rights outlined in the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Lauber noted that proactive efforts to include Indigenous peoples in UN processes are essential to ensure that the UN addresses issues that are unique to Indigenous communities around the world, including issues related to “self-determination, climate justice, cultural preservation, linguistic rights, access to land and natural resources, and sustainable development.” These policies intend to make the UN more successful at advocating for the specific Indigenous rights that are enshrined in international law by UNDRIP and to secure equitable treatment of Indigenous people in accordance with rights to equality and non-discrimination outlined in Articles 1 and 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Lauber also denounced the use of violence and intimidation against Indigenous human rights defenders around the world, arguing that states need to better protect Indigenous activists. Indigenous rights to self-determination and nationhood outlined in UNDRIP often come into conflict with public and private actors due to ongoing patterns of land dispossession and oppression in countries that were formerly colonies. This has resulted in assassinations and the use of violence at times, according to the UN.

Indigenous women are particularly suffer greater risks of gender-based violence than the general population due to the exclusion of Indigenous women from “education, employment opportunities, decision making and access to justice.”