Pablo Mis Appointed as Advisor to UN General Secretary on United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples

Pablo Mis has been appointed to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. In his capacity, Mis will serve as one of five persons on the Advisory Board of Trustees of the U.N. Fund. The fund was established some thirty-five years ago with the goal to enhance the participation of indigenous people in the U.N. system. Mis is the first indigenous representative from Belize to be appointed in this role. Mis says that his appointment will provide him with the opportunity to advise the U.N.’s Secretary General on the use of the fund for the next three years. Today, he shared what this appointment means for indigenous peoples across the Americas and what he is hoping to champion on their behalf in his advisory role:

Pablo Mis, Advisor to UN General Secretary

“I think that my nomination is one that didn’t come simply as a result of my work alone but of course the work of all indigenous peoples in this region of the Americas and the Caribbean and for Belize, I think, this is also a recognition that we have indigenous peoples and their representatives are actively engaging on issues that is affecting them. So, I think is recognition of the present visibility and the efforts of indigenous peoples in Belize to become a part of the conversation on matters that are affecting them. I am honored to be a part of the board for the next three years and my hope then is that we are able to get more information directly to the various indigenous constituencies and see more participation within the corridors of the UN. I particularly have a keen interest in working closely with the indigenous peoples within the Caribbean. My experience has seen not a very strong presence of indigenous and tribal people within the Caribbean region in the UN system. I also take note that the voluntary fund recently expanded its mandate to look at issues related to climate change to make sure that indigenous peoples are a part of that and within the Caribbean region we will note that climate change impacts first most the indigenous and marginalized communities. So, we hope that in my capacity I would like to see that we are able to get the relevant information to the representatives of the indigenous peoples within the Caribbean and see how they can build their own capacity and see how they can facilitate their participation within these discussions which will ultimately impact their lives. The aim is that we would like to see more indigenous peoples being a part of the process of nation making within the UN system so that the nation building process takes into account the realities of indigenous peoples.”