The Batani International Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation has taken part in the 7th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from April 21 to May 2, 2008 at the UN headquarters in New York.

The special theme of the session where the Batani Fund representatives have participated in was Climate change, bio-cultural diversity and livehoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges. Also, the session considered issues of socioeconomic development, environment preservation, public health, education, culture, human rights protection, languages and indigenous children and youth.

During the session activity, participating organizations arranged side events aimed at consideration of concrete problems. The Batani Fund representatives took part in two events:

Indigenous Peoples and Private Sector: Next Steps

This side event was arranged April 24, 2008 by non-governmental organization Tribal Link Foundation acting in the UN system under co-financing of the UN PF Secretariat. The following persons were speaking at the event: Elissavet Stamatopoulou, Chief of the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Head of the UNPF Secretariat on Indigenous Issues;  Tom Calma, Human Rights Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission of Australia; Ursula Wynhoven, representative of UN Global Compact (the UN initiative allowing industrial companies’ activity and strategy comply with ten common principles in the sphere of human rights, labor relations, environment protection and corruption countering (http://www.undp.ru/index.phtml?iso=RU&lid=2&pid=111);

Pavel Sulyandziga, vice-president of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, president of the Batani Fund and also

Yana Dordina, who told on the Batani Fund activity and experience of Russia’s indigenous peoples with industrial companies running on the territories of indigenous original territories and economic activity.After the event, P. Sulyandziga and Y. Dordina held negotiations with representatives of the Global Compact on possibility of the Fund participation in this UN initiative.

Small Grants, Big Results: the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations & the UN Trust Fund for the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People

This side event was arranged April 29, 2008 by Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Indigenous representatives with experience in the both fields of funding in two funds administrated by the UN – those who approve suggested projects and those who have got the grants – shared their background and also answered the questions during the consideration. The event was addressed by the Permanent Forum chairman Victoria Tauli-Korpuz; Head of the UN PF Secretariat Elsa Stamatopoulou; Chairperson of the Board, Voluntary Fund for Indigenous populations Tarcilla Rivera Zea; recipient of Voluntary Fund grant Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim; UNPFII member and Trust Fund Advisory Group member Michael Dodson; and also Yana Dordina as a recipient of the UN Trust Fund’s grant for support to the Second Decade. The Batani Fund representative told on the organization activity and on what had been made in 2007 due to the funding obtained.  

30 June during consideration of the agenda item regarding the future work of the forum, Yana Dordina spoke for the Batani Fund about its mission and goals to establish cooperation between small-numbered indigenous peoples of Russia and industrial companies acting on the territory of their habitat. Dordina recommended paying a special attention to relations of indigenous peoples and companies, improvement of indigenous peoples’ awareness in their rights, their training and also tutoring industrial companies to use such tools as policy and standards of the World Bank, IFC, CBD, EBRD etc.