{"id":391627,"date":"2026-04-22T05:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391627\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T05:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:49:13","slug":"un-forum-puts-spotlight-on-healthcare-for-indigenous-peoples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391627\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Forum puts spotlight on healthcare for Indigenous Peoples"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 1,000 participants\u00a0are expected to\u00a0attend the latest session\u00a0of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues\u00a0(UNPFII)<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the\u00a0platform\u00a0that has placed\u00a0their concerns\u00a0at the\u00a0centre\u00a0of international debate\u00a0over\u00a0the past 25 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the Amazon to Australia, and Africa to the Arctic, you are the great guardians of nature, a living library of biodiversity conservation, and champions of climate action,\u201d UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> said in remarks to the opening ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Health inequities persist\u00a0<\/p>\n

Delegates \u2013 many wearing traditional clothing \u2013\u00a0convened\u00a0in the General Assembly Hall\u00a0where an Inuit leader\u00a0from Canada, Aluki\u00a0Kotierk,\u00a0was re-elected chair of the\u00a0forum\u00a0by acclamation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Indigenous\u00a0People make up six per cent of the global population, they account\u00a0for\u00a0nearly 19\u00a0per cent of\u00a0those\u00a0living in extreme poverty. Communities still\u00a0encounter\u00a0discrimination,\u00a0marginalisation\u00a0and exclusion,\u00a0and\u00a0she highlighted\u00a0the health inequities they face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regardless of\u00a0where in the world\u00a0they live,\u00a0Indigenous Peoples\u00a0experience\u00a0shorter life expectancy, increased likelihood of chronic illnesses and alarming suicide rates, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0degradation of Indigenous Peoples\u2019\u00a0lands, territories and waters directly contribute to these poor health outcomes,\u201d she\u00a0added, with communities reporting issues such as mercury contamination and climate\u00a0change\u00a0impacts.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Aluki<\/p>\n

Aluki Kotierk (centre), Inuk leader from Canada and former President of Nunavut Tunngavik, chairs the opening of the 25th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).<\/p>\n

Interconnected and inseparable\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0Kotierk\u00a0explained\u00a0that for\u00a0Indigenous Peoples,\u00a0\u201chealth and well-being is more than just physical and mental health. It is interconnected with our culture, spirituality, languages, our\u00a0lands\u00a0and our environment.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She argued that\u00a0health systems and understanding\u00a0around\u00a0health \u201cmust be decolonized to acknowledge this interconnectedness and incorporate the holistic, self-determined approaches to health by\u00a0Indigenous\u00a0Peoples.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General\u00a0underscored<\/a>\u00a0how\u00a0their rights are inseparable from their lands, waters, languages, cultures, and ecosystems, stressing that when one is harmed, all are affected.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is especially true in the context of conflict, when displacement from ancestral lands, loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, destruction of sacred sites, and disruption of cultural traditions can put health at risk,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Annalena<\/p>\n

General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock addresses the opening of the 25th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).<\/p>\n

\u2018A moral failure\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

General Assembly President<\/a> Annalena Baerbock\u00a0addressed how\u00a0land loss, displacement and\u00a0marginalisation\u00a0have caused\u00a0communities\u00a0to suffer\u00a0higher rates of illness,\u00a0malnutrition\u00a0and preventable disease, while life expectancies can be up to 20 years shorter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIndigenous women face particularly acute risks, including disproportionately high maternal and infant mortality rates,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not only a moral failure. It is a development failure.\u00a0The health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples is both a measure of our progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals<\/a> and a condition for achieving them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Honour commitments, promote participation\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General acknowledged\u00a0Indigenous Peoples as \u201cbearers of cultures, knowledge, and ways of life that have sustained humanity for thousands of years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stressing that their participation in global decision-making has never been more critical, he outlined four priorities for action,\u00a0with the first urging Member States to honour their commitments under\u00a0the\u00a0UN\u00a0Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples<\/a>.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the\u00a0UN system and Member States must ensure the full, meaningful, and direct participation of Indigenous Peoples at all levels, supported by adequate and sustained financing.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

He called\u00a0for\u00a0societies everywhere\u00a0to take\u00a0immediate and concrete steps to protect Indigenous Peoples, their leaders, and human rights defenders \u2013 and to address the violence and risks they face.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

The final area for action is\u00a0to ensure that Indigenous women and girls can\u00a0participate\u00a0meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives,\u00a0as\u00a0\u201ctheir knowledge, leadership, and perspectives must shape the way forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Forum for debate\u00a0<\/p>\n

The UN\u00a0Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)\u00a0was\u00a0established\u00a0in July 2000 as a high-level advisory body to the UN Economic and Social Council<\/a> (ECOSOC).\u00a0<\/p>\n

It has a mandate to deal with issues in six areas \u2013 economic and social development, culture, the environment,\u00a0education, health\u00a0and human rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 25th\u00a0session runs from 20 April to 1 May and will address a range of key issues, including related to the 2030 Agenda<\/a> for Sustainable Development.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 1,000 participants\u00a0are expected to\u00a0attend the latest session\u00a0of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues\u00a0(UNPFII)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the\u00a0platform\u00a0that has placed\u00a0their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-391627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}