20 April 2026 - 麻豆传媒 Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) opened its twenty-fifth session today at United Nations Headquarters in New York, marking the 25th anniversary of its founding as the unique multilateral forum for Indigenous Peoples. It takes place against a global backdrop of persistent challenges, including health, conflict, and inequality. It also comes at a time when the multilateral system, within the framework of initiatives such as UN80, faces growing demands for inclusion, legitimacy, and effectiveness.
This year, the session brings together more than 1,000 participants, including Indigenous Peoples, representatives of Member States, United Nations entities, and academia. Chief Tadohaho Sid Hill of the Onondaga Nation opened with a ceremonial welcome, followed by remarks from senior United Nations officials, including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres; General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock; the President of the Economic and Social Council, Lok Bahadur Thapa; and Bj?rg Sandkj?r, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Governor General of Canada, Her Excellency Mary Simon, also addressed the Opening Ceremony.
The 2026 Forum begins its work this year with women comprising 11 of the 16 expert positions.
Established in 2000, the Forum has placed the concerns of Indigenous Peoples at the center of international debates, promoting the recognition of their rights and strengthening their effective participation in global processes over the past 25 years.
This year’s theme focuses on ensuring the health of Indigenous Peoples, including in the context of conflict, highlighting the interconnectedness of their health with their territories, cultures and ecosystems, as well as the impacts of climate change. As Secretary-General António Guterres has noted, “For Indigenous Peoples, health is inseparable from your lands, waters, languages, cultures, and ecosystems.”
Despite the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, progress remains uneven, as Indigenous Peoples continue to face profound inequalities rooted in colonization and structural exclusion. Although Indigenous Peoples represent about 6 per cent of the world’s population, they account for nearly 19 per cent of people living in .
These inequalities continue to disproportionately affect the health of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in the contexts of conflict and the environmental crisis. At the same time, threats against Indigenous leaders and human rights defenders are increasing worldwide. indicate that at least 196 land and environmental defenders lost their lives worldwide in 2023, many of them Indigenous Peoples. In this regard, the Forum’s Chairperson, Aluki Kotierk, urges “States to address human rights violations as a matter of priority, guaranteeing justice and reparations to those Indigenous human rights defenders that are victims of violations.”
The Forum is not only a space to highlight these challenges, it also fosters dialogue, cooperation, and Indigenous-led solutions, and serves as a platform for strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to UN multilateral processes.
In addition, the Forum will address a range of key issues, including human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will also feature a human rights dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the CEDAW General Recommendation No. 39 (2022) on Indigenous women and girls. Discussions will further focus on the financing of Indigenous Peoples’ work and participation across multilateral and regional systems, and on future work of the Forum.
During the two-week session, more than 60 side events will be organized by States, Indigenous Peoples and academia. During the first week, an Indigenous Media Zone will provide a space for Indigenous media to report on the session in Indigenous languages. An exhibition entitled “Walking with the Earth: Nomadic Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Wisdom, and Global Futures” will also be on display, with a cultural event scheduled for Tuesday, 21 April.
All official sessions can be viewed live on , and interpretation in all six official UN languages will be available.