EMRIP19: Item 6 – Country Engagement

19^th Session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP)

13^th to 17^th July 2026, UN, Geneva, Switzerland

Joint Statement on

Item 6: Country Engagement

Presented by: Pratima Gurung, on behalf of Asia Indigenous Peoples Caucus

We welcome the work that the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) has undertaken under its country engagement mandate, and we listened very carefully to the updates and advice provided under the recently completed missions to Canada and Brazil. We believe that the country engagement mandate is an important innovation and addition to the overall mandate of the EMRIP, especially for constructive problem-solving of specific issues faced by Indigenous Peoples.

While there have been very few visits by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Indigenous Peoples to Asian countries, we can draw on those experiences to observe that the country visits conducted by the Special Rapporteur and the country engagement mandate of EMRIP are distinct and complementary, with the former looking at the overall country situation and the latter addressing very specific issues in a targeted way.

As Asia Indigenous Peoples, we take painstaking efforts to respond to requests for information on the specific annual themes of both the EMRIP and the Permanent Forum. We do this through coordination by our regional platform, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, including through our annual regional preparatory meeting to prepare for the EMRIP, Permanent Forum and other Human Rights Processes. This year, we have identified contemporary and persistent human rights issues related to conflict and post-conflict situations in many Asian States, conservation, and the energy transition. Many can be addressed through the problem-solving approach of the country’s engagement.

The EMRIP has visited eight countries so far, covering the Arctic, North America, Central and South America, and the Pacific socio-cultural regions. Unfortunately, there has been no country engagement yet in Asia. We urge the EMRIP to collaborate with the Asia region to identify a country it can engage with in Asia. We welcome the appointment of Mr. Gam Shimray, former Secretary General of AIPP, and look forward to working with him and the rest of the EMRIP so that we can have a first country engagement in Asia.

Thank you.

Click here to download the full statement of EMRIP19 Item 6