Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Delegates at the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Geneva 9-13

July 2012
Posted by Janine Gertz on July 11, 2012 at 19:23 View Blog I'm in Geneva, Switzerland currently attending the fifth session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples representing my traditional owner group's community organisation Gugu Badhun Limited. The Expert Mechanism provides the Human Rights Council with thematic advice, in the form of studies and research, on the rights of Indigenous peoples as directed by the Council. From October 2011 until September 2012, the Expert Mechanism is: preparing a study on the role of languages and culture in the promotion and protection of the rights and identity of indigenous peoples; building on its previous studies and especially its study on indigenous peoples and the right to participate in decision making with a specific focus on extractive industries; preparing and collating a questionnaire for states on best practices regarding possible appropriate measures and implementation strategies in order to attain the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and discussing the upcoming World Conference and, together with other relevant mechanisms on indigenous peoples issues, contributing to the exploration of the modalities for the meeting, including indigenous peoples participation in the World Conference and its preparatory process. As the Expert Mechanism is conducting a study on the role of languages and culture in the promotion and protection of the rights and identity of indigenous peoples. I was please to present a statement by Gugu Badhun Ltd yesterday on behalf of the Indigenous Peoples Organisations (IPO) Network of Australia. (I have posted a copy on IHRNA for information) This will be my second time participating at EMRIP, as I have previously attended the Third Session of EMRIP in 2010. The theme that year was the right to participate in decision making. Attending this year along side the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations represented at EMRIP this year are: Gugu Badhun Limited National Native Title Council (NNTC) New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) Foundation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Research (FAIRA) Foundation for Indigenous Recovery and Development Australia (FIRDA)

Statements from representative organisations will be posted to IHRNA soon.

IPO Network Co-Chairs Janine Gertz (Gugu Badhun Ltd) and Brian Wyatt (National Native Title Council) at the United Nation's Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Geneva 9-13 July 2012.