Geneva, 28 September 2022 (TDI): Finland, on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries, applauded Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People (EMRIP) for its leadership in discussions on the participation of Indigenous People at the Human Right Council.
The statement came from Finland at the 51st session of the Human Rights Council.
The Nordic-Baltic countries 🇩🇰🇪🇪🇮🇸🇱🇻🇱🇹🇳🇴🇸🇪🇫🇮 applaud EMRIP for its leadership in discussions on enhanced participation of Indigenous Peoples at the #HRC
A safe living environment is essential for all Indigenous Human Rights Defenders, notably for women.➡️https://t.co/6nTbLh5Rop pic.twitter.com/zpc1jyGYuY
— FinlandGeneva 🇫🇮 🇺🇳 #FIinHRC (@FinlandGeneva) September 28, 2022
Finland at HRC 51
Nordic-Baltic countries Statement was delivered by Ambassador Kirsti Kauppi, Permanent Representative of Finland to Geneva, on 28 September 2022.
Ambassador Kirsti Kauppi was honored to speak on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries which include Denmark together with Greenland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
She stated that Nordic-Baltic countries welcome the annual report of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People.
She emphasized the indigenous people’s rights and added that “We applaud EMRIP for its leadership in discussions on enhanced participation of Indigenous People at the Human Rights Council.
We will engage actively in the forthcoming workshop in November and look forward to taking concrete next steps.
We reiterate your call to guarantee indigenous human rights defenders a safe living and working environment, without discrimination, fear of reprisals, intimidation, or threats of any kind.
The additional risks faced by indigenous women human rights defenders must be addressed.”
Ambassador of Finland also said that Nordic-Baltic countries strongly condemn the increase in cases of harassment against Indigenous Peoples’ representatives, particularly women leaders, attending UN meetings. She said that this must be stopped.
Lastly, Ambassador Kirsti Kauppi asked a question to the members of the EMRIP, “What are your expectations from us Member States at the forthcoming workshop?”
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Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People
The Human Rights Council, the top UN body on human rights, created the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People (EMRIP) as a subsidiary body of the Council in 2007 by resolution 6/36.
In September 2016, Human Rights Council’s resolution 33/25 amended its mandate. The Expert Mechanism is made up of seven independent experts on indigenous rights.
The Human Rights Council appoints the experts, who are chosen based on their knowledge of Indigenous People’s rights, their consideration of experts of indigenous ancestry, and their gender balance.
