The 2025 UN Forum on Indigenous Issues starts today and the environment is on the agenda

Latoya Abulu - Mongabay - 21/04
This story is published through the Indigenous News Alliance. Last Thursday, Hanieh Moghani, a legal scholar from Iran, was scheduled to attend a private meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York City with more than a dozen Indigenous experts from around the world. But Moghani was more than 5,000 miles away in Iran, waiting […]
  • The 24th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the largest convening of Indigenous peoples globally, began on April 21st, 2025.
  • Indigenous peoples come from around the world to discuss a range of issues affecting their rights and the environment, including deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, the preservation of traditional knowledge, mining and sustainable development.
  • A number of people hoping to attend the global forum have encountered visa delays or denials this year, prompting concerns less people will be able to address issues in their countries.
  • The State Department and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency did not respond to questions by the time of publication but some researchers suspect Trump’s crackdown on immigration is playing a role.
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This story is published through the Indigenous News Alliance.

Last Thursday, Hanieh Moghani, a legal scholar from Iran, was scheduled to attend a private meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York City with more than a dozen Indigenous experts from around the world.

But Moghani was more than 5,000 miles away in Iran, waiting for her visa to arrive.

“It is very, very stressful,” she said.

Moghani is one of 16 core members of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, the highest-ranking body within the U.N. system that deals directly with Indigenous peoples’ concerns, and was appointed to the position in 2023 by the United Nations. She has not received a...
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