1

MLMCkANDUM

1C: lndlgenous Clobal CoordlnaLlng Croup
IkCM: Andrea Carmen, LxecuLlve ulrecLor, lnLernaLlonal lndlan 1reaLy Councll
DA1L: 19 !anuary 2014
kL: updaLes and Summary of opLlons regardlng Lhe lndlgenous Co-coordlnaLor for Lhe PLM/WCl
and dlscusslons wlLh lrlendly SLaLes" group (Mexlco, CuaLemala, eru, 8ollvla, Lcuador, nlcaragua,
Spaln, new Zealand, llnland, uenmark and some oLhers l dld noL noLe), Lhe Lhree un Mechanlsms
experLs (!ames Anaya, Chlef WllLon LlLLlechlld, Crand Chlef Ldward !ohn, Myrna Cunnlngham,) unlll
SecreLarlaL, lndlgenous eoples, lormer PLM/WCl Co-CoordlnaLor !ohn Penrlksen, varlous lndlgenous
eoples represenLaLlves (reglonal, women, youLh), and CA Ambassador Ashe (AnLlgua and 8arbuda)
!anuary 16 and 17, 2014, un PeadquarLers, new ?ork


AC1ICN NLLDLD
lurLher dlscusslon needs Lo happen wlLh Lhe lndlgenous Clobal CoordlnaLlng Croup (CCC) and all
reglons/caucuses abouL Lhe lssue of Lhe lndlgenous co-coordlnaLor for Lhe hlgh-level plenary meeLlng of
Lhe Ceneral Assembly Lo be called Lhe World Conference on lndlgenous eoples (PLM/WCl). lL ls
recommended LhaL Lhe CCC conslder Lhe slgnlflcance of recenL developmenLs, Lake a poslLlon on Lhe
opLlons below and lssue a publlc sLaLemenL followlng Lhe CCC meeLlng scheduled ln Chlang Mal early
nexL monLh.

lrlendly SLaLes are asklng us Lo keep bulldlng pressure on Lhls lssue by sendlng more leLLers Lo Lhe
resldenL of Lhe Ceneral Assembly (CA) from all reglons and arranglng meeLlngs for Lhose ln n? Lhls
week lf posslble. l am also asklng LhaL all CCC members dlssemlnaLe Lhls memo wldely amongsL Lhe
lndlgenous eoples reglons and caucuses.

8ACkGkCUND
1here have been dlscusslons amongsL lndlgenous eoples (ls) and concerns expressed by lrlendly
SLaLes acLlng as lrlends of Lhe CA" for Lhe PLM/WCl LhaL Lhe CA does noL plan Lo re-appolnL an
lndlgenous co-coordlnaLor for Lhe PLM/WCl and would lnsLead appolnL Lwo SLaLes (norLh and SouLh)
Lo serve as Lhe co-faclllLaLors. 1he CCC lssued a call Lhls pasL week Lo ls and ls organlzaLlons Lo slgn
on Lo a leLLer Lo Lhe CA requesL[lng] Lhe appolnLmenL of an lndlgenous co-faclllLaLor for Lhe remalnlng
phase of Lhe process Lowards Lhe hlgh level plenary meeLlng of Lhe Ceneral Assembly, Lo be known as
Lhe World Conference on lndlgenous eoples, Lo be held ln SepLember 2014." 1hls leLLer was forwarded
Lo Lhe CA along wlLh oLher leLLers maklng Lhe same call by Lhe Lhree unlLed naLlons (un) ls
Mechanlsms, oLher lndlgenous organlzaLlons and Lhe lrlendly SLaLes.

1he unlLed naLlons ermanenL lorum on lndlgenous lssues (unlll) LxperL Croup MeeLlng on
8eproducLlve and Sexual PealLh was held 13-17 !anuary ln new ?ork and many ls aLLended from all
reglons, as dld represenLaLlves of Lhe Lhree un ls Mechanlsms. As a resulL of Lhe lssues belng ralsed
abouL Lhe lndlgenous co-coordlnaLor, several meeLlngs were organlzed and Look place as requesLed by
Lhe lrlendly SLaLes, unlLed naLlons (un), ls Mechanlsms and Lhe SecreLarlaL of Lhe unlll. lndlgenous
eoples represenLaLlves from Lhe norLh Amerlca, LaLln Amerlca, Afrlca and Asla reglons aLLended ln
Lhelr capaclLy as recognlzed leadershlp from Lhelr reglons as well as leaders of lndlgenous Womens'
neLworks. 1bete wete oo loJlvlJools otteoJloq tbe meetloqs lo New otk wbo cotteotly setve oo tbe
CcC.

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!ohn Penrlksen (!P) was appolnLed as Lhe lndlgenous Co-coordlnaLor for Lhe PLM/WCl by Lhe CA of
Lhe 66Lh Sesslon of Lhe Ceneral Assembly (CA) afLer ls represenLaLlves and un experLs meL wlLh hlm
followlng Lhe Copenhagen meeLlng ln !anuary 2012. 1he guldellnes for Lhe unCA sLaLe LhaL co-
faclllLaLors can only be SLaLes. Powever, Ambassador ue Alba and !ohn Penrlcksen served as co-
coordlnaLors acLlng on behalf of Lhe CA ln equal poslLlons. 1hls has been seen as a ma[or sLep forward
for ls desplLe argumenLs by SLaLes LhaL Lhls seLs a precedenL for fuLure global meeLlngs (l.e. havlng clvll
socleLy or ls servlng ln Lhls Lype of capaclLy). 8oLh SLaLes and ls have sLressed, lncludlng ln Lhe
meeLlngs LhaL [usL Look place, LhaL ls are eoples and noL non-governmenLal organlzaLlons (nCC's) and
so Lhls argumenL dld noL apply ln Lhls case. lt wos te-offltmeJ by oll (lls teps, uN Mecboolsm xpetts
ooJ ltleoJly 5totes) Jotloq tbe meetloqs tbls week tbot ooy oppolotmeot of oo loJlqeooos
tepteseototlve oeeJeJ to be oo tbe bosls of epool stooJloq ooJ pottlclpotloo. 1bls posltloo bos beeo
soppotteJ by tbe CcC ooJ lls sloce tbe beqlooloq of tbls ptocess. lt seems tbot oo ooe lo tbese
Jlscossloos ls cotteotly cooslJetloq bockloq Jowo ftom tbls posltloo.

1IMLLINL
1he CA wanLs Lo make Lhe announcemenL as soon as posslble. !P belleves LhaL Lhe CA may be wllllng
Lo walL on maklng Lhls declslon buL LhaL Lhe declslon ls very much ln Lhe hands of Lhe CA and lrlendly
SLaLes. All agree LhaL progress ln Lhe oLher lmporLanL areas of conslderaLlon (roundLables, plans for Lhe
formaL of Lhe ouLcome documenLs, eLc.) are belng held back as a resulL of Lhls maLLer noL belng
resolved, and Llme ls of Lhe essence Lo seek a resoluLlon accepLable Lo all, lncludlng ls. 1he lrlendly
SLaLes were able Lo geL hlm Lo hold off on announclng a declslon unLll afLer Lhe CCC meeLlng wlLh Lhe
expecLaLlon LhaL Lhe CCC members wlll dlssemlnaLe Lhe lnformaLlon abouL Lhls lssue Lo Lhelr reglons ln
advance of Lhelr meeLlng, moblllze acLlon ln Lhelr caucuses and bulld pressure vla more leLLers Lo Lhe
CA. Myrna Cunnlngham suggesLed LhaL Lhls lnformaLlon be dlssemlnaLed Lhls week vla Lhe CCC reps Lo
Lhelr reglons and caucuses.

8oseJ oo oll tbese meetloqs ooJ Jlscossloos, tbete ote two posslbllltles fot tbe lCAs Jeclsloo teqotJloq
te-oppolotloq tbe loJlqeooos leoples co-cootJlootot. 8oseJ oo my coovetsotloos ooJ meetloqs oo tbls
lo N, oltbooqb we ote oll wotkloq ooJ oJvocotloq fot Optloo A, lt looks llke Optloo 8 ls most llkely to be
posbeJ fotwotJ by tbe lCA.

A. GA re-appo|nts an Ind|genous co-coord|nator. 1he CA responds Lo consolldaLed poslLlon of
lrlendly SLaLes, un Mechanlsms and ls, changes hls already-sLaLed declslon, and re-appolnLs as
lndlgenous co-coordlnaLor as Lhe collecLlvely agreed Lo represenLaLlve of ls ln LhaL role, !ohn
Penrlksen. AlLhough Lhls would be Lhe besL ouLcome for us based on our collecLlve poslLlon as ls,
and we musL conLlnue Lo advocaLe for lL, lL does noL look very llkely aL Lhls Llme because:
1. 8ased on Lhe meeLlng wlLh Lhe SLaLes (1/16), conversaLlons l had wlLh Lwo SLaLe
ambassadors/reps (eru, CuaLemala) afLer Lhelr meeLlng wlLh Lhe CA (1/17), and a brlef
conversaLlon l had wlLh Lhe CA rlghL afLer Lhls meeLlng, Lhls does noL seem llkely aL Lhls polnL.
1he lrlendly SLaLes were dlscouraged by lack of progress ln Lhelr hlgh level (Ambassador level)
meeLlng wlLh Lhe CA lrlday ln whlch all Lhe recenL leLLers were noLed and/or presenLed (from
SLaLes, CCC and ls, Lhree un ls Mechanlsms).
2. CA Ashe has already sald he does noL lnLend Lo do Lhls desplLe Lhe declslon of Lhe prevlous
CA for Lhe 66
Lh
CA sesslon Lo do so. An agreemenL Lo re-appolnL !P ln Lhls role would
represenL a change of hls flrmly sLaLed poslLlon. 1he CA Lold me personally ln a brlef face-Lo-
face conversaLlon wlLh several reps from varlous ls caucuses LhaL he would reach a soluLlon
accepLable Lo ALL S1A1LS". We know LhaL Lhere are aL leasL Lhree SLaLes ln flrm opposlLlon
because (Lhey argue) Lhls would seL precedenL for nCC's/non SLaLe acLors Lo be ln lnvolved ln
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Lhls and fuLure SLaLe/CA processes (Lhls has been addressed on several levels by SLaLes and ls
buL some sLaLes are adamanL ln Lhelr opposlLlon based on Lhls core lssue). 1hls ls Lhe prlmary
concern sLaLed by Lhe CA and 8ussla, Chlna, and lndla. lL was also shared LhaL lndla has
afflrmed LhaL Lhe ouLcome documenL can only be declded and developed by SLaLes.
3. All agree LhaL our sLraLegy needs Lo be Lo conLlnue Lo push for Lhls declslon. lndlgenous eoples
who aLLended Lhe meeLlng dld noL wanL Lo presenL oLher opLlons or compromlses Lo equallLy of
parLlclpaLlon. lrlendly SLaLes are asklng us Lo keep bulldlng pressure by sendlng more leLLers Lo
Lhe CA from ALL 8LClCnS (can be senL dlrecLly or vla Lhe unlll SecreLarlaL) and arranglng
meeLlngs for Lhose ln n? 1PlS WLLk ll CSSl8LL.

8. GA re-appo|nts two States co-fac|||tators (North and South) and an Ind|genous person |n a
|esser]|ess off|c|a| ro|e (a "he|per" or ass|stant who wou|d be present |n a|| d|scuss|on but not on
an equa| foot|ng).
1. 8C: We would be ln Lhe room and prlvy Lo Lhe conversaLlons and plans regardlng Lhe
PLM/WCl, ouLcome documenL, eLc. and perhaps be able Lo have some lnpuL and lnfluence
some ouLcomes ln an lnformal way.
2. CCn: 1hls formula vlolaLes Lhe un ueclaraLlon on Lhe 8lghLs of lndlgenous eoples, Lhe
collecLlve flrm poslLlon of Lhe Lhree un ls mechanlsms, Lhe sLaLed poslLlon of Lhe CCC and
many organlzaLlons of ls, lree rlor and lnformed ConsenL, self-deLermlnaLlon, rlghL Lo
parLlclpaLe ln declslon maklng, eLc. 1hls would noL enable ls Lo lmpacL Lhe ouLcome documenL
ln a real way and Lhls would Lhrow Lhe posslblllLy of a poslLlve ouLcome lnLo quesLlon lf we
cannoL achleve lmplemenLaLlon of ls rlghLs per Lhe un ueclaraLlon ln Lhe plannlng and
sLrucLure.

In bos olteoJy loJlcoteJ tbot be wlll NO1 occept tbe tole oo tbese tetms ooless lls lo tbe
teqloos/coocoses soppott tbls moJlfleJ fotmolo ooJ coll opoo blm to pottlclpote ooJet tbese
cooJltloos.

3. Cne plece of very lmporLanL lnformaLlon ls LhaL apparenLly no SLaLes have agreed Lo accepL Lhls
role lf Lhe ls' rep ls noL lncluded on an equal fooLlng as agreed by Lhe CA of Lhe 66Lh sesslon
(Lhe 2 equal co-coordlnaLors" formula). 1he lrlendly SLaLes are upseL as well LhaL Lhe CA has
approached several SLaLes on hls own alLhough Lhey are ln a lrlends of Lhe CA role for Lhe
PLM/WCl. When any have sLarLed Lo agree, Lhe oLher SLaLes explaln Lo Lhem LhaL Lhey would
be dolng so w/ouL ls ln Lhe role, and Lhey have backed down. 1hls solldarlLy by many SLaLes
wllllng Lo sLand wlLh ls on prlnclple and go Lo baL for us Lhls way ls a ma[or achlevemenL LhaL
should noL be squandered or undermlned.

A growlng group of lrlendly SLaLes lead by Mexlco has gone ouL on a llmb Lo advocaLe for us
lncludlng on Lhe Ambassador level ln dlscusslons and leLLers Lo Lhe CA Lo flghL for equal
parLlclpaLlon and several have already sald Lhey would noL accepL Lhe role under Lhls
clrcumsLance (mosL recenLly, Canada and Slovakla and several form nordlc and LaLln Amerlcan
reglons). ln my vlew we would lose falLh wlLh Lhem lf we accepL less Lhan Lhey have been
presenLlng as our (and Lhelr own) flrm poslLlon. lL mlghL be hard Lo ask Lhem Lo go Lo baL for us
agaln llke Lhls lf we do LhaL.

As lL ls belleved LhaL CA Ashe wlll move forward wlLh Lhe second opLlon, ls need Lo conslder how we
wlll move forward wlLh Lhe PLM/WCl. CpLlons for ls Lo conslder should CA re-appolnLs Lwo SLaLes
co-faclllLaLors (norLh and SouLh) and an lndlgenous person ln a lesser/less offlclal role lnclude:
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A. Accept the he|per]ass|stant role ("ln Lhe room" buL noL as an equal parLner wlLh Lhe SLaLe co-
faclllLaLors) as a sLep back from Lhe co-coordlnaLor role we had before as Lhe besL we can geL now
from Lhe currenL CA, and move ahead wlLh Lhe PLM/WCl on Lhose Lerms. We would need Lo
flnd anoLher ls rep wllllng Lo flll Lhe lesser role |f Lhere ls consensus Lo move forward and conLlnue
Lo parLlclpaLe as besL we can (see noLe regardlng !P's poslLlon above).
1. 8C: We wlll be ln Lhe room for all or mosL dlscusslons (Lhe CA says Lhls would be Lhe case)
and mlghL flnd a way Lo lnfluence declslons as long as Lhey are golng on anyway and dlscusslng
our rlghLs.
2. CCn: 1here ls very llLLle Llme Lo choose someone else by global consensus (plcklng !P Look
almosL Lwo years for all reglons Lo agree), and whlch wlll surely be dlvlslve wlLhln Lhe global ls
movemenL, among Lhe reglons, eLc. lf lL ls even posslble glven Lhe Llme consLralnLs. Also some
ls wlll probably declde Lo parLlclpaLe any way, oLhers wlll boycoLL and denounce Lhe ls who
accepLed Lo parLlclpaLe under Lhls scenarlo (or dld noL even know abouL lL), and Lhe slLuaLlon
could end up belng vL8? dlvlslve among ls as well as SLaLes. Also lrlendly SLaLes wlll quesLlon
our resolve and may noL be happy LhaL lL puLs Lhem ln a dlfflculL poslLlon as well based on Lhe
sLand Lhey have already expressed on our behalf Lo noL accepL Lo be co-faclllLaLors/coordlnaLors
unless ls are also ln LhaL role on an equal fooLlng. 1hey also Lold Lhe CA LhaL many ls would
probably noL agree Lo parLlclpaLe under Lhese condlLlons.

8. ostpone the nLM]WCI for one year. 1hls ls a poslLlon LhaL some unfrlendly" sLaLes have
purporLedly proposed slnce Lhe lssue of Lhe co-faclllLaLor has goLLen Lhe plannlng behlnd schedule.
WlLhouL co-faclllLaLors, Lhere ls no one ln Lhe CA's offlce asslgned Lo coordlnaLe Lhe PLM/WCl
and we are noL yeL ln dlscusslons abouL Lhe drafL ouLcome documenL and roundLables.
1. 8C: 1hls wlll glve us more Llme Lo work ouL Lhere lssues, however Lhe nexL CA wlll be from
uganda and lL ls unllkely wlll noL be supporLlve Lo Lhe PLM/WCl.
2. CCn: CuaLemala and oLher SLaLes feel all momenLum wlll be losL, as Lhe focus nexL year wlll be
Lhe osL 2013 SuC's. lnLeresL from ls and funders mlghL dry up as well.
J. Connle 1aracena of Lhe un CuaLemala Mlsslon sald (and Lwo oLher SLaLes agreed wlLh Lhls ln Lhe
conversaLlon afLer Lhe hlgh level meeLlng wlLh Lhe CS) LhaL lf Lhe voLe for Lhe un ueclaraLlon
was Laken Loday lL would noL pass Lhe CA and Lhere has been a loL of backward movemenL
among many SLaLes. C: ls Lhls a reason Lo be furLher concerned regardlng Lhe (already
recognlzed by ls) posslble lnLenL of some SLaLes Lo use Lhe PLM/WCl Lo roll back" Lhe un
ueclaraLlon? Cr ls Lhls a reason Lo push lL forward nCW and noL walL longer as Lhlngs seems Lo
be golng backwards? !" $%%&'&("$) *("*+,". Aoyooe oJvocotloq to move obeoJ wltb o uN
cooveotloo oo tbe klqbts of lls ot tbls tlme, wblcb woolJ cleotly be o 5totes-Jtlveo ptocess lo
tbls polltlcol cllmote ooJ woolJ moke tbe uN ueclototloo ooll ooJ volJ wbeo lt stotts, sboolJ
keep tbls lo mloJ. Altbooqb vety few lls ote oJvocotloq fot tbls ptocess, lt bos come op ftom
tlme to tlme ooJ tbe cotteot sltootloo sboolJ be o mottet of cooceto to tbem lo tbot teqotJ.

C. Ca|| for the nLM]WCI to be cance||ed based on unequal parLlclpaLlon by ls as called for by ls,
Lhe l un mechanlsms (LM8l and unlll) and Lhe un ueclaraLlon call for parLlclpaLlon ln declslon
maklng as a fundamenLal crlLerla for addresslng and lmplemenLlng our rlghLs aL Lhe un, and work
Lowards a real, full blown WCl aL some polnL ln Lhe fuLure.
1. 8C: 1hls whole Lhlng wlll be done wlLh and we can Lake some of Lhe AlLa CuLcome uocumenL
recommendaLlons and sLraLeglze on how Lo work on Lhem ln oLher ways wlLhln Lhe un SysLem
lncludlng Lhe osL 2013 SuC's, work on 1reaLles, eLc.
3
2. CCn: lL mlghL be very hard Lo geL lnLeresL from anyone ln Lhe un sysLem or funders Lo
reorganlze for Lhls Lo occur any Llme ln Lhe near fuLure, and Lhls call would need Lo be a
consensus by Lhe CCC, ls mechanlsms, ls orgs and Lhe reglonal, women and youLh caucus Lo
be effecLlve. Also lL ls unclear how Lhls can happen based on Lhe CA resoluLlons calllng for Lhe
PLM/WCl Lo Lake place ln SepLember 2014 and no CA meeLlngs unLll rlghL before Lhe
PLM/WCl ls supposed Lo Lake place.

u. Let the nLM]WCI go forward but ca|| for AND CkGANI2L a boycott by Is (wlLh Lhe excepLlon
perhaps of Lhe ls un mechanlsms who could parLlclpaLe Lo make Lhe sLaLemenL on behalf of ls
regardlng lack of parLlclpaLlon ln declslon-maklng and lack of lmplemenLaLlon of Lhe un ueclaraLlon
from Lhe geL - go, eLc.).
1. 8C: We would make a sLrong polnL regardlng vlolaLlng our rlghLs ln Lhls way ll we can achleve
a broad boycoLL by all reglons and some SLaLes also declde noL Lo parLlclpaLe also ln solldarlLy
wlLh ls. 1hls provldes an opporLunlLy for organlzlng, proLesLs, press conferences eLc., as well as
an AlLernaLe ls Conference/s (lf we have Lhe capaclLy Lo organlze Lhls aL Lhls shorL noLlce, no
currenL funds, eLc.)
2. CCn: As we have seen before, lL wlll be very hard Lo achleve a LoLal boycoLL (as we dld very
effecLlvely ln 1996 regardlng equal parLlclpaLlon Lhe un ueclaraLlon process ln Ceneva vla Lhe
walk ouL ln whlch ALMCS1 all ls Lhere [olned ln and Lherefore goL Lhe resulLs we wanLed).
Some ls may sLlll Lhlnk Lhey should parLlclpaLe Lo mlLlgaLe damage or oLher reasons, and slnce
Lhere are only 200 sloLs for ls Lhey may sLlll flll Lhe room, maklng Lhls LacLlc non-effecLlve as
well as dlvlslve. 1hls approach would need Lo be near unanlmous (or aL leasL a clear consensus
declslon) by all Lhe reglonal and women and youLh caucuses, or lL would be very dlvlslve among
ls. We would need Lo also conslder organlzlng proLesLs/alLernaLlve evenLs eLc. ouLslde Lhe
sesslon ln n? Lo make our polnL, and lmplemenLlng a really good communlcaLlons plan. Agaln,
could be dlvlslve based on some belng ls lnslde Loo, lncludlng as speakers, unless lL's very well
coordlnaLed and agreed among us all how Lhls wlll break down.