The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will meet with representatives of indigenous peoples and Member States from the different regions on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 April 2018.  UN agencies, regional and National Human Rights Institutions and academics are also welcome to attend.

Format:
These informal and interactive dialogues will be facilitated by members of the Permanent Forum.  The Forum members will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussions.

Objectives:
The aim of the regional dialogues is to discuss issues of relevance in the countries of the region and identify how to sharpen the focus and impact of the Permanent Forum’s analysis and recommendations. The objectives of these dialogues include the following:

• To follow up on issues raised during the first week of the Permanent Forum session;
• To seek inputs of indigenous peoples, Member States and others on the draft report of the Permanent Forum session, particularly the context and recommendations;·
• To identify specific strategic measures that can be taken to:
  • promote the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the national level;
  • advance the rights of indigenous peoples at the regional and international levels;·
• To provide a space for indigenous peoples, Member States and UN system to exchange information and perspectives in an informal and constructive setting to facilitate consensus building;
• To identify specific thematic areas and/or emerging issues that the Permanent Forum may wish to focus on at future sessions.

Schedule of regional dialogues:
Tuesday 24 April
10 am – 1 pm: Arctic & Eastern Europe, Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia⃰  (Conference Room 6)
10 am – 1 pm: Pacific (Conference Room 8)

3 pm – 6 pm: Asia (Conference Room 6)

3 pm – 6 pm: Africa (Conference Room 8)

Wednesday 25 April
10 am – 1 pm: North America (Conference Room 6)
10 am – 1 pm: South & Central America and the Caribbean (Conference Room 8)