Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples (MAFUN) representative Oliver Loode was elected to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from Eastern European States.
The election of eight new members to the Forum, nominated by their respective governments took place April 25th at the resumed organizational session of the UN Economic and Social Council in New York. Mr. Loode was nominated by the Estonian government in January 2013. The second appointed expert of the Forum from Eastern European states was a senior adviser to the Department for Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
We remind you that in March of this year, former MAFUN President, and member of the Representative Council of Karelians, Vepsians, and Finns, headed by Karelia, Aleksei Tsykarev was nominated to the UN Expert Mechanism on Indigenous Peoples from Eastern European States.
Terms for new members of the Permanent Forum start January 1st 2014, and end December 31st 2016. There are 16 members in the Forum All of them serve personally as independent experts on indigenous issues, performing their duties for three years with the possibility of re-election or appointment for one more term.
The Permanent Forum was established in accordance with resolution 2000/22 of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of July 28, 2000. In the resolution, the Permanent Forum was given a mandate to "discuss indigenous issues within the bounds of the Council mandate with regards to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health care and human rights."
The twelfth Session of the Permanent Forum will take place from the 20th through the 31st of May, 2013 in the recently restored meeting hall in UN headquarters in New York.
On the 26th of April, the President of ECOSOC will appoint eight more Forum members, nominated by indigenous nations. Among the candidates there is experienced representative of the Finno-Ugric movement, and member of the Interregional Public Movement "Komi Vojtyr," Aleksei Konyukhov.