Mr. Chairman,

Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is pleased to
take the floor under this agenda item on indigenous issues, to
restate its commitment in addressing the relevance, modalities and
impact of migration on indigenous communities and their well
being.  IOM’s forthcoming publication entitled
“Indigenous Routes: A Framework for Understanding Indigenous
Migration” examines more closely this phenomenon. 

When we think of indigenous peoples, we often think of them as a
sedentary group with strong ties to their land, with migration
having overall marginal significance for their individual projects.
However, a number of factors are bringing to light the importance
of migration of indigenous peoples, all too often and sometimes
more correctly described as forced migration or displacement. It
would be reductive to consider the hardships associated with the
migration of indigenous peoples only through the perspective of the
environmental, social and economic factors determining their
migration. While lack of economic, health and educational
opportunities and services are root causes for their migration, the
migration process itself also reinforces a pattern of
marginalization and social exclusion, such as  
vulnerability to trafficking and smuggling, which often continues
at their host destinations, within or across borders. As the
Special rapporteur has pointed out, “indigenous migrants are
particularly vulnerable to human rights violations”

Indeed the migration of indigenous peoples often paints a bleak
picture of their experience, but this does not need to be the case
in all aspects.  Indigenous peoples should not be passive
victims of migration, but resilient authors of their survival in
these uncertain times as they have been for centuries.  There
are indigenous peoples who migrate for enhanced education,
employment and health opportunities and services, who have a reason
for and a choice in their migration.  However, not all
indigenous peoples are able to make a properly informed decision
before they migrate.  This is significant as their migration
tends to have a more collective than individual impact, affecting
their identity as indigenous peoples and their way of
life. 

Mr. Chairman,

Recent intergovernmental processes, such as the 2006 UN
High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development and the 2007
Global Forum on Migration and Development have shown how far the
international community has come in recognizing the migration and
development nexus.  Just as recently, the sixth session of the
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues earlier this year highlighted
the importance of migration to indigenous peoples.  The
Permanent Forum’s Recommendations called for, inter alia,
mechanisms for the return, compensation and restitution for
indigenous peoples displaced from their lands, and to keep the
issues of internal migration and urbanization of indigenous peoples
an ongoing priority on its agenda.   For its part, IOM,
as a member of the Inter-Agency Support Group of the Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues, has recently been asked to promote a
migration contact group. This contact group will consist of various
UN agencies which deal with indigenous peoples’ migration, in
order to identify relevant ongoing work and to strategize on how to
raise the specific issues of indigenous peoples within the
migration and development debate.

Mr. Chairman,

The overarching theme of this 62nd Session of the General
Assembly is climate change.  Debates on this issue have
focused strongly on the scientific, financial and technical
aspects, but we also need to associate a human face to the impacts
of climate change.  There may be no more relevant, no more
vulnerable group to climate change than indigenous peoples. 
Their lands face more vulnerability due to their remoteness in some
cases, and because a number of indigenous communities rely heavily
on their territories for livelihood.  When indigenous
peoples’ survival is dependent on seasonal crops, fishing
seasons, and other resources from their bio-diverse territories,
the impacts of climate change including the destruction of ecology
and livelihood has forced indigenous communities to migrate from
their long-held ancestral lands for their ultimate survival.
However, indigenous peoples with their full and effective
participation can be stakeholders instead of victims.  Through
their traditional knowledge and resilience which has lead to their
sustenance over centuries, indigenous communities can offer proper
adaptation and mitigation strategies to climate change. 

Mr. Chairman,

We would be remiss to conclude this statement without stating
our regard for the recently adopted UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.  This Declaration was the culmination of
over two decades of commitment by stakeholders to this historic
document.  IOM, for its part in the IASG of the Permanent
Forum, will heed the call to support the ideals of this Declaration
in its work. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.