UN NGO UPDATE

The Commission on the Status of Women was a success.  We had four sisters attend the CSW 69. The sisters were from Peru, Spain, Philippines and Southern California.  Three of the sisters stayed with me in our apartment and Sr. Genevieve from the Philippines stayed with her family in New Jersey.

The sisters attended a variety of parraelle and side events inside the United Nations Headquarters. We had lots of discussions in the morning and evening around the kitchen table.

It was relaxed and stimulating.

This year there was no concluding agreements only a declaration. The declaration was negotiated during the month of February by the Member States. However.many NGO’s felt it was weak and did not speak totally to women’s equality.  However, the commitment that was made was to continue the work of the Beijing Declaration made in 1995. This gives women some opportunity to continue to work for womens equality.

This year the NGO Dominican Leadership Conference worked with three other NGO;s the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Medical Mission Sisters. It was a collaborative that brought forth four different speakers to open the Commission on the Status of Women on March 10^th at 8:30 am.  It was  a wonderful collaborative experience for the four ngo’s.  Here is a copy of the Video of that webinar.

Attached in a powerpoint are some photos of the sisters who were here for the CSW 69.  What a gift they were to me and the other attendees of the CSW 69. 

The next commission is April 21-May 2, 2025. It is the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues also known as UNPFII. This is the twenty fourth session. The Dominican Leadership Conference has been very involved over the last five years with this commission.  We have sponsored many parallel events as well as assisted Indigneous people to come to the UN through our accreditation as ECOSOC. 

We again have registered seven from various parts in the Amazon. We have also prepared a few parallel events. One will be a dialogue with the Mining Working Group and the Indigneous on April 23 from 10:00-12:00 am , and on the morning of April 24^th we will host the Global Indigenous Dialogue at the Salvation Army. See the attached flyer.

We work very closely with the Episcopal Conferences of CIMI, REPAM, CEAMA in the Amazon. It is a privilege to be able to host the people from there. As you know the Dominican mont of peace in 2023 was dedicated to the Amazon. This forum is a unique way in which we Dominicans continue to support our brothers and sisters in the Amazon.

The theme of the UNPFII for 2025:  “Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within United Nations Member States and the United Nations system, including identifying good practices and addressing challenges”

A program of work is listed for the two weeks. Please take a look at the agenda of the two weeks.

In addition to the program or agenda for the two weeks is a series of documents that are available to consult.

E/C.19/2025/L.1 Programme of Work AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/4 Report of the international expert group meeting on the theme “The rights of Indigenous Peoples, including those in voluntary isolation and initial contact in the context of critical minerals” AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH 

E/C.19/2025/2 System-wide action plan for ensuring a coherent approach to achieving the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: implementation by the United Nations system AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH 
 

Documents prepared by Members of the UNPFII:

E/C.19/2025/6 The rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of critical minerals to ensure a just transition, by Hindou Oumarou
Ibrahim and Hannah McGlade AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/7 Impact of colonization and armed conflicts on Indigenous Peoples’ rights: the imperative of peacebuilding, by Hanieh Moghani, Hannah McGlade and Geoffrey Roth AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/5 Evaluating institutional structures to improve the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples globally: the Indigenous determinants of health measurement instrument, by Geoffrey Roth AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

E/C.19/2025/3 International financial architecture and the rights of
Indigenous Peoples, by Darío José Mejía Montalvo AR | EN | ES | FR | RU | ZH

These documents give you an idea of some of the areas of concerns of the Indigenous as well member states at the United Nations.

Attached is our flyer in English and Spanish. The event is virtual. Please join as your schedule allows.

Click here to view picture power point

Click here for English version indigenous flyer
Click here for Spanish version indigenous flyer