Civil society organizations

Indigenous peoples - Projects

Regional Initiative on Strengthening Policy Dialogue on Indigenous, Highland and Tribal Peoples' Rights and Development (RIPP)

RIPP was established in September 2004 within the framework of UNDP’s Policy of Engagement with Indigenous Peoples (2001). The Initiative completed its first phase of activities (2004-2007), and has gained recognition as a unique initiative within the UN system.

The objectives of the project are to strengthen the policy dialogue and coordination on indigenous, highland and tribal peoples' rights and sustainable development at all levels. In line with this, the programme aims to enhance inter-country sharing of experiences on priority issues, particularly with regard to reducing the incidence of poverty among indigenous peoples. It further aims to build capacity among all stakeholders, strengthen information networks and knowledge management systems particularly among indigenous peoples, to support their full and effective participation in policy dialogue at all levels.

The Regional Initiative will continue its work within the framework of its regional cooperation agreement for Asia-Pacific for 2008-2011. During the new phase, RIPP will strive to address indigenous issues at the regional level to ensure better integration in national development processes and outcomes – with the Declaration providing guiding principles for its work, together with UNDP’s policy of engagement.

UNDP’s engagement with indigenous peoples has received a fresh impetus with the historic adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ on 13 September 2007 - by an overwhelming majority of UN member-states, including from Asia and the Pacific.

RIPP provides advice and support on strengthening national policy and programming frameworks. The Initiative offers a neutral space to bring together governments, UNDP COs, agencies and indigenous peoples’ organizations/CSOs to discuss and agree frameworks for cooperation. For more information, check the website.

Indigenous peoples' component of the Human Rights Strengthening Programme (HURIST)

HURIST is a joint programme with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights aimed at integrating human rights in development by building the capacity of UN country offices, preparing methodologies and toolkits on human rights and documenting and disseminating good practices in the application of these rights in development. Two projects have been launched already in Ecuador and Kenya with a third planned for Southeast Asia in 2006. The Catalan Government of Spain is funding two additional projects in Latin America and is contributing to the second phase of the Ecuador initiative.

• Project in Ecuador - phase II (Spanish)
  
• Project in Ecuador (Spanish)
• Project in Guatemala (Spanish)
• Project in Bolivia (Spanish)
• United Nations Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee of Kenya (UNIPACK).

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