During the 25th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on April 24, held at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, Professor of Law Gerald Torres ’77 moderated an event featuring panelists from North and South America, Africa, and Asia.
The event, titled “Implementing Article 32 of UNDRIP: Indigenous Self-Determination Through Indigenous-Led Initiatives, Co-Management and Co-Stewardship of Natural Resources, and the Emerging Rights of Nature Framework,” was presented by the Yale Center for Environmental Justice (YCEJ), the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, and the Indigenous NGO, Land is Life.
“Discussions like the one we had are essential for continued progress towards achievement of the promise of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Having the indigenous people speak for themselves is critical,” said Torres.
In addition to the event in New York, YCEJ hosted a live viewing event at the Yale Native American Cultural Center which was organized by James D. Diamond, visiting lecturer in law and visiting clinical lecturer in law at Yale Law School. Diamond is also senior counselor for Indigenous programs at YCEJ and worked with the event’s co-sponsors to coordinate Yale’s participation in the panel.
Panelists included Bouba Aeisatu, founder and CEO of Forum des femmes Autochthones du Cameroun; Luisa Casteneda Quintana, executive director of Land Is Life; Pallab Chakma, secretary general of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact; Q”apaj Conde, programme management officer with the United Nations Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity; David Cordero-Heredia, visiting fellow at the Yale School of the Environment; Elisa Marchi, program manager of the Indigenous Rights & Protected Areas Initiative and professor of practice of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at University of Arizona; and Charles Sams, director of Indigenous programs at YCEJ and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Yale University also sent eight delegates to the event at the U.N., including Diamond and three students.
Torres is a professor of environmental justice and professor of law at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice and Yale Law School. He is a leading scholar in environmental justice, constitutional law, and democratic governance, and his work explores the relationship between law, natural resources, and social movements. At Yale, he teaches courses including “Environmental Justice,” “Federal Indian Law,” “Critical Race Theory,” and seminars on environmental governance and democratic institutions.
The Yale Center for Environmental Justice is a generative hub of solutions for some of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, including the climate crisis. It works at the intersection of Indigenous rights, environmental governance, and climate justice, partnering with Indigenous communities, scholars, and practitioners to co-create solutions grounded in sovereignty and traditional knowledge.
