Capacity Development and Training

Upon the request of Member States, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) provides capacity development and training for government officials, Indigenous representatives and UN country teams. Each request for cooperation is dealt with by UN-DESA on an individual basis and capacity development is tailor made for the specific requirements of each Member State and Indigenous Peoples, respecting the right to free, prior and informed consent. The ultimate goal is to support the achievement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Building on in house expertise as the Indigenous Peoples and Development Branch/Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, as well as the permanent co-chair of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous issues, UN-DESA provides a range of capacity building and advisory services. This includes support to governments in developing specific policies, action plans and other administrative measures related to Indigenous Peoples as well as efforts to implement these measures. Support has also included training programmes  to improve the situation of Indigenous Peoples at country level through capacity building and awareness raising on Indigenous Peoples’ issues. 

For further information please contact the Secretariat at indigenous_un@un.org