“There Is No Safe Place”: Two Days of the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus at the United Nations Permanent Forum

New York, April 18–19, 2026

On April 18 and 19 in New York, as part of the session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a two-day Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus took place—an informal but highly substantive platform where representatives of Indigenous communities from around the world can speak directly, without diplomatic filters. This year’s theme was formulated as “The health of Indigenous Peoples, including in situations of conflict.”

Over the two days, more than forty speakers from North and Latin America, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and Europe took the floor. The overall picture that emerged from these interventions was far from optimistic: the health of Indigenous peoples is being systematically undermined—and this destruction is inseparable from the loss of land, water, language, and voice.

What is health when land is taken away?

A central question ran through both days: is health possible without territory?The answer, voiced from across the globe, was unequivocal: no.

Seli Consiel from the Brazilian state of Acre spoke plainly:

“Without our territory, we cannot maintain our health. The land gives us the strength to survive.”

Her people were nearly exterminated a century ago, carried out their own demarcation process, and today live in a state of постоянное сопротивление (continuous resistance).

Lucia Costa-Mareira from another Brazilian community—where only two women survived—spoke of a 26-year struggle for land demarcation. Ann Dennis from New South Wales emphasized that “conflict” in this context must be understood broadly: not only as armed confrontation, but as a daily struggle for access to healthcare, which Indigenous peoples often lack without legal protection.

This logic—land as the foundation of health—is not metaphorical but literal. For the Yaqui people in Mexico, river contamination following a mining spill means poisoned soil and water. For Indigenous communities in California, a toxic lake means skin cancer and vanished fish. For a pastoralist community in Cameroon, forced migration due to armed conflict results in the loss of traditional healing knowledge and access to food. Different contexts, the same mechanism.

“Green transition” as a new form of conflict

One of the sharpest turns in the discussion was the critique of the so-called “green transition.”Andrea Carmen, Executive Director of the International Indian Treaty Council, stated it directly: the green transition is not about climate mitigation—it is a new packaging for the old logic of resource extraction.

Lithium extraction in the “lithium triangle” (Bolivia, Chile, and neighboring countries), where over half of global reserves are located, is conducted on Indigenous lands without their free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), accompanied by water contamination and displacement. A similar situation exists with uranium mining on Navajo lands.

Carmen also highlighted a rarely discussed paradox: pesticides banned for domestic use in the U.S. and Germany continue to be produced and exported—to Indigenous lands elsewhere. More than 100 such complaints have been submitted to the UN. She argued that Article 22 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should be interpreted to recognize environmental contamination as a form of violence.

Maternal health: between ceremony and criminal law

A Navajo midwife named Nicole spoke on both days, delivering some of the most concrete and painful testimony.

For Indigenous women, childbirth is a ceremony—accompanied by songs, medicinal plants, rituals, and community presence. Traditional birthing systems existed long before licensed medicine. Today, in many U.S. states, practicing midwifery without a license is criminalized.

As a result, women from remote reservations must travel hours to hospitals, often giving birth en route. Less than 1% of healthcare budgets is allocated to maternal health. Nicole described unsuccessfully searching for $2.5 million in funding for basic services.

The World Health Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have clearly stated: denial of care constitutes a form of violence.

“When a woman becomes pregnant, she loses autonomy,” Nicole said.

Russia: UN platform narratives vs. reality

Pavel Sulyandziga, a representative of the Udege people, made two key points.

First, he addressed how Russia uses the Forum. In recent years, positive narratives about companies like Nornickel were presented with the support of the government and RAIPON. In reality, communities remain without basic services and face displacement.

Second, he addressed health data. Russia does not maintain official statistics on Indigenous health. Independent data suggest life expectancy among Indigenous peoples is 10–15 years lower than the national average. In one village, the average age of death is 36.

Olga Kostrova added specific cases: on December 17, 2025, a coordinated wave of repression targeted Indigenous rights defenders. Daria Egereva and Natalya Leongardt were arrested, alongside at least 17 others.

Kostrova called on the Forum to demand an end to the criminalization of Indigenous defenders and a review of their cases.

Water as the first environment

Water as the first human environment—echoing from Māori elders to global speakers—became a central metaphor:

“Water is our first environment. If it is contaminated, we cannot give birth to a healthy generation.”

From Okinawa to Cameroon, speakers described militarization, displacement, and lack of healthcare as interconnected threats.

Structural questions: what does the Forum achieve?

Speakers raised a difficult question: does the Forum produce real change?

Resolutions go to United Nations Economic and Social Council, but implementation is lacking. As one speaker put it:

“Noise is not development.”

Veteran participants, including Wilton Littlechild, reflected on decades of advocacy and ongoing treaty violations.

Voices that must not be ignored

The Caucus does not adopt binding decisions. But it amplifies voices often excluded from formal negotiations.

Speakers addressed colonialism as an ongoing conflict, forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Peru, youth suicide, and the need for disaggregated data. The youth caucus proposed cooperation with UNICEF.

This article is based on materials from the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus at the UNPFII, April 18–19, 2026, New York.

Photo: Pavel Sulyandziga

IR