19th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

Date: 13–24 April 2020

Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York

Theme: “Peace, justice and strong institutions: the role of indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 16”

The Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations System has released an ‘Easy Read’ version of the executive summary of the JIU review (JIU/REP/2018/6) on enhancing accessibility for persons with disabilities to conferences and meetings of the United Nations system. The marks the first occasion that the contents of a JIU review have been prepared in ‘Easy Read’ format, with the intent to improve the accessibility of the findings of the review for persons with disabilities.

Women with disabilities are often subjected to double discrimination due to their gender and disability status and continue to be at a disadvantage in most spheres of society and development. Available data suggests that the gap is stark compared with men without disabilities: women with disabilities are three times more likely to have unmet needs for health care; three times more likely to be illiterate; two times less likely to be employed and two times less likely to use the Internet.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues consists of sixteen members: ‘Eight members to be nominated by Governments and elected by the Council, and eight members to be appointed by the President of the Council following formal consultation with the Bureau and the regional groups through their coordinators, on the basis of broad consultations with Indigenous organizations, taking into account the diversity and geographical distribution of the Indigenous Peoples of the world as well as the principles of transparency, representation and equal opportunity for all Indige

Despite recording efforts to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into Member States’ national plans and policies, the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) also shed to light challenges in fully implementing the Agenda 2030.

In the period 2016–2019, 158 voluntary national reviews were presented at the high-level political forum on sustainable development by 143 countries, over two-thirds of which included references to ageing.

Persons with disabilities remain less likely to attend school and complete primary education and more likely to be illiterate than persons without disabilities. Available data reveals that, on average, one in three children with disabilities of primary school age is out of school, compared with one in seven children without disabilities. Primary school completion is also lower for children with disabilities.

The Report of the Secretary-General to the 58th session of the Commission for Social Development in 2020  provides an overview of the modalities for the fourth review and appraisal of the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

The occurrence and duration of emergencies, whether humanmade or natural disasters, have increased in the past years. Between 2008 and 2018 the number of crises receiving an international response grew from 12 to 22, and their average duration rose from 6 to 9 years.

The capacity of individuals to respond to emergencies and effectively access mitigation, adaptation and relief resources is determined by their individual and social characteristics, including age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic factors and health status, among others.

In accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution A/71/321, the Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) of UNDESA is conducting a survey in order to seek the input from Indigenous Peoples for the preparation of the report of the Secretary-General on achievements, analysis and concrete recommendations on the possible further measures necessary to enable the participation of Indigenous Peoples’ representatives and institutions in meetings of relevant UN bodies on issues affecting them.