FUNDING United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples Video on the Voluntary Fund: The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples was established by General Assembly resolution 40/131, in 1985, to ensure that the voices of indigenous peoples are heard within the UN system. Since then, the mandate and scope of the Fund have been significantly broadened and expanded seven times. Today, the Fund provides support for indigenous peoples’ representatives to participate in various key meetings of the United Nations, such as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII), the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), the HRC, including its UPR process, the treaty bodies and the consultation processes on the enhanced participation of Indigenous Peoples in the General Assembly. Over the past 33 years, the Fund has supported the participation of over 2,000 indigenous peoples’ representatives from all regions of the world. The development of the rights of indigenous peoples has been driven by a united and transnational movement of indigenous peoples, enabling them to bring their issues to the attention of the international community. It is without doubt that thanks to the support of the Fund, the participation of indigenous peoples at the United Nations over the last 30 years has led to considerable developments in international human rights standards on indigenous peoples, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) 106 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 FUNDING and the creation of key mechanisms, such as the PFII, the EMRIP and the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. In 2018, the Fund allocated 109 travel grants to enable indigenous representatives to participate in the sessions of the PFII in New York (35), the EMRIP in Geneva (20) and the HRC, its UPR Working Group and the UN human rights treaty bodies in Geneva (40). Additionally, 14 indigenous representatives were supported by the Fund to attend a General Assembly consultative process/interactive hearing session in New York. The Fund acts on the advice of a five-member Board of Trustees. The five Board members appointed by the SecretaryGeneral for the period 1 January 2018 - 31 December 2020 are: Mr. Diel Mochire (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Ms. Myrna Cunningham (Nicaragua), Ms. Anne Nuorgam (Finland), Mr. Binota Dhamai (Bangladesh) and Ms. Claire Charters (New Zealand). The Board of Trustees participated in the regular coordination meetings of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, the PFII and the EMRIP, which in turn disseminated information on the activities of the Fund to their respective networks. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur established an important practice of holding meetings with the beneficiaries of the Fund in parallel to the sessions of the EMRIP and the PFII. UN VOLUNTARY FUND FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF THE MAYA Q’EQCHI PEOPLE OF BELIZE VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2018 Donor US$ Argentina 5,000 Australia 109,890 Canada 192,456 Denmark 155,376 Estonia 22,727 Finland 58,072 Germany 68,259 Holy See 2,000 Mexico 17,327 Norway 357,270 Spain 22,727 TOTAL 1,011,105 Pablo Mis is the Programme Coordinator for the Maya Leaders Alliance (MLA). Together with the Maya peoples, in 2015, the MLA won a historic land rights court decision in the Caribbean Court of Justice. It is now pioneering the creation of a Maya economy. others. He currently serves as the lead spokesperson for the Maya peoples in the negotiation of the implementation of the Maya Land Rights Court Orders. As a 2013 UN Human Rights Indigenous Fellow, Pablo has applied the knowledge and experience he gained to promote human rights in Belize in order to advance the self-de© Pablo Mis termination of the Maya Q’eqchi and Mopan peoples. He uses his knowledge and experience across the key programme areas of the MLA, including in relation to strengthening and constructing Maya governance and institutions; sustaining and revitalizing the Maya culture; caring and revitalizing Maya lands and resources; leveraging Maya capacities and resources; and protecting the rights of the indigenous Maya. Determined to expand the impact of his knowledge beyond the Maya peoples of southern Belize, Pablo has been instrumental in leading the formation of a national indigenous peoples’ round-table. This led to the revitalization of the Belize National Indigenous Council, which brings together the Maya Mopan, Q’eqchi, Yucatec and Garifuna. Since 2015, Pablo also led the process of bringing together representatives of indigenous peoples from the Caribbean. This resulted in the formation of the Network of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Caribbean (NITPC), which includes members from Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad. The NITPC is currently being coordinated by the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders of Suriname. Since completing the UN Human Rights Fellowship, Pablo has been a grantee of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples several times. He has led the participation of the Maya peoples in the studies of the EMRIP, the events of the PFII, reports to the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, the UPR and the work of the Special Rapporteur, among Pablo’s story is a testament to the far-reaching positive changes that the UN Human Rights Indigenous Fellowship Programme and the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples bring in supporting the local human rights efforts of marginalized populations. It also brings visibility to their local efforts in promoting a more just and equal world. UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 107