MKO Advocates for Member States to Communicate Policies and Ambitions for Indigenous Rights at United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Press Release

April 29, 2025

Onondaga Territory, United Nations Headquarters, New York – Monday, Brennan Manoakeesick, MKO’s Director of Intergovernmental Relations, participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) to address Work Item 5(d) – a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This session reviewed the progress made by member states to outline their policies and goals to support and ensure that Indigenous Peoples can fully exercise their rights.

During the session, Mr. Manoakeesick highlighted the need for Member states to work collaboratively with Indigenous Peoples to develop and clearly communicate their policies and ambition to constructively affirm acknowledged Indigenous rights to achieve the meaningful exercise of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Mr. Manoakeesick stressed that transparent communication by Member states to Civil Society and Corporate Society is key to ensuring everyone understands the commitment and the degree of ambition of governments to affirm and ensure the meaningful exercise of Indigenous rights.

“The absence of clear communication from Member states can lead to misinformation and fan the flames of racism and discrimination,” said Mr. Manoakeesick. “It is crucial for Member states to stand firm and clearly communicate their commitment to protecting human rights and achieving the meaningful exercise of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.”

MKO’s recommendations underscore the importance of open discourse and the active involvement of Member states in reversing decades of state-sanctioned systemic infringements of Indigenous rights. MKO has described as “the reckoning,” those situations where persons and entities which have been unjustly enriched by past state-sanctioned infringements resist change and seek to maintain the historic status quo. Mr. Manoakeesick called for Member states to embrace and to openly and publicly communicate their intention to take concrete action to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and their commitment to the objectives of reconciliation and decolonization.

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Media Release available as PDF here

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