For Immediate Release
Palais des Nations
Geneva, Switzerland
July 16, 2026
NAC-SNM Next Generation Voice Echoes at the UN Assembly Hall in Geneva
Indigenous Peoples from around the world, Member State representatives, and organizations—including the Native American Church-State of New Mexico, the Native American Rights Fund, and the National Congress of American Indians—gathered in Geneva, Switzerland to engage in dialogue on the rights of Indigenous Peoples during the 19th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) meeting July 13-17, 2026. “At the EMRIP, NAC-SNM continued its advocacy for protection of traditional plant medicines, indigenous knowledge holders, and medicinal plant habitats,” said Leathan Dayish, NAC-SNM Vice-President.
Stakeholders in the intellectual property community may not yet recognize the human rights implications and opportunities created by the Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Treaty (GRATK). “This innovative new instrument simultaneously promotes the rights of Indigenous Peoples, global interests in biodiversity, and greater transparency within the corpus of Intellectual Property law,” said Cory Dayish, NACNA Delegate at Large for New Mexico. Importantly, the GRATK Treaty is especially significant as one of the first international treaties to reference and incorporate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In an intervention on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians, President Mark Macarro emphasized the need “to continue amplifying and elevating the call for action on the GRATK Treaty and requested that the EMRIP recommend that the Human Rights Council urge States to become parties to the Treaty and fully implement it, in conjunction with Indigenous Peoples, and in accordance with Article 31.
Indigenous Peoples hold rights over their traditional knowledge and genetic resources, as recognized in Articles 11, 12, 24, 25, and 31 of the Declaration. These articles speak eloquently to Indigenous Peoples’ ceremonial, religious and cultural rights, which rely on our traditional plants and plant knowledge. In her intervention, Ms. Avila recommended that the Human Rights Council devote an upcoming half-day panel on Indigenous Peoples’ issues to the question of implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of protecting traditional plant knowledge, ceremonial practices, and the natural habitats of medicinal plants. Ms. Avila emphatically stated that these rights are deeply important to members of the Native American Church, some who are citizens of the Navajo Nation. Our ceremonies carry traditional knowledge, and that knowledge carries our languages, our culture, our customs, and our plant medicines.
“We are proud to see our NAC-SNM Next Generation engaging at the United Nations and carrying forward the responsibilities of culture, tradition, and ceremony,” said Leo Dayish, President, NAC-SNM. “We encourage our young leaders to continue speaking with strength, humility, and purpose on behalf of our people and future generations.” NAC-SNM remained in Geneva through the week and entered several interventions. Interventions were on topics related to preservation, revitalization and promotion of Indigenous Languages, Future Work of the EMRIP, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Proposals to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council.
