Madame Chairperson, distinguished members of the Permanent Forum,
delegates, ladies and gentlemen, and colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that the International Organization
for Migratin (IOM) addresses the Permanent Forum here today. 
With the opening of the Permanent Forum highlighted by the address
of H.E. President Evo Morales Ayma of Bolivia and the record number
of indigenous representatives attending this year's Permanent
Forum, it is a privilege to participate in this year's
session. 

Madame Chairperson, I would like to briefly refer to three areas
of our work that are particularly significant to our agenda and
have marked the work of IOM on indigenous matters over the past 12
months: i) environmentally-induced migration and its relevance for
indigenous peoples; ii) Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) work on
migration; and iii) gaining a better understanding of indigenous
peoples' migration.

 

First, the environment: This year's special theme on "Climate
change , bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship
role of indigenous peoples and new challenges" is significant to
all of us, but also has special meaning in a migration
context.  As early as 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) had noted that "the greatest single impact of
climate change could be on human migration – with millions of
people displaced by shoreline erosion, coastal flooding and
agricultural disruption".  For indigenous poeples however,
climate change brings about its own specific challenges that demand
the attention of the international community to respond to what has
been called "environmental migration".  As it has been
researched, indigenous peoples face more vulnerability due to their
remoteness in some cases, and because a number of indigenous
communities rely heavily on their territories for livelihood. 
Thus the initial and harshest impacts of climate change are faced
by indigenous peoples, impacting their lives and their livelihoods,
and prompt their migration or displacement.  In either case,
the marginalization of indigenous peoples is a key social
determinant in worsening the impact of this phenomenum. 

When heavy rains caused massive flooding and landslides in
Mexico last year, IOM's emergency response in Tabasco and Chiapas
placed priority on the indigenous communities of the Zoque who were
particularly affected in Ixhuatán where they lost their
homes, and the Tsotsil located in the municipalities of Jitotol and
Pueblo Nuevo. IOM's response made it possible to recover a minimum
of their lost household goods and to provide the materials to
rebuild their homes. In partnership with the NGO Association of
Rural Zones of Tabasco State (Asociación de las Zonas
Rurales del Estado de Tabasco), assistance was also provided for
the Chontal indigenous people in Nacajuca.  Part of this
emergency response included selecting qualified personnel from the
Chontal community, which made up 80% of the emergency response
team, thus ensuring communications with the community in their
vernacular language and an effective needs-based response. 
Citing this one example, it is evident that indigenous communities
can play an important role as co-authors of any plans to counteract
the adverse effects of climate change on their environment.

Madame Chairperson,

Second, inter-agency cooperation: In continuing its
collaboration with the IASG and following up on a recommendation of
the Permanent Forum in last year's session, IOM has been tasked
with being the convenor of a migration contact group "to identify
relevant ongoing work within individual agencies and to strategize
on how to raise the specific issues of indigenous peoples within
the migration debate." Indeed this contact group has begun with
agencies of the IASG sharing amongst the group their expertise and
activities with indigenous peoples as it relates to migration, and
we have been pleased to see the growing importance of migration in
discussions regarding indigenous peoples.  We now look forward
to discussing with our IASG partners ways in which the migration
debate can include the concerns of indigenous peoples.  Of
noted interest is the Global Forum on Migration and Development, to
be hosted by the Government of the Philippines this October, which
will have a specific focus on protecting and empowering migrants
for development.  This will certainly be a key opportunity in
which to raise the specific issues of indigenous peoples'
migration.

Lastly, and as part of IOM's growing reach in the area of
indigenous peoples and migration, we have recently published the
work Indigenous Routes: A Framework for Understanding Indigenous
Migration, copies of which are available in the back of the room
and an electronic version of which can be found on our website
class="paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.un.int/iom">http://www.un.int/iom.  The report
looks at diverse examples of indigenous peoples' migration
including internal and international migration.  Transborder
migration of indigenous peoples, those whose communities were
transected with the establishment of modern nation states and the
drawing of international borders, are particularly highlighted here
as their lands and communities have been divided between opposite
sides of a border.  Issues regarding sovereignty and
citizenship are discussed in this report with the specific cases of
the Haudenosaunee, the Tohono O'odham and Maya highlighted as
examples.  Attention is also given to the effects of migration
on indigenous peoples looking at areas of employment, social
services, housing and identity, as well as how migration has
impacted potential development avenues such as through remittances
and transnational activities.  While the challenges and
opportunites of indigenous migration are explored in this report,
more research and data on this topic are greatly needed, not just
to better inform migration policies but also for indigenous leaders
to have a better understanding of this phenomenon to communicate
better their messages and to better manage the cultural change that
comes with migration.  We hope that this report will catalyze
further research on this worthy topic.

Madame Chairperson,

In conclusion, we would be remiss if we did not highlight the
importance of the recent adoption of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Article 41 of the Declaration
looks to the UN and "other intergovernmental organizations" to
"contribute to the full realization of the provisions of this
Declaration through the mobilization, inter alia, of financial
cooperation and technical assistance".  For IOM, this is an
opportunity to further engage with indigenous peoples.

Thank you.