Paloma is currently a PhD student at the New School for Social Research and a research assistant at the Zolberg Institute for Migration and Mobility. Her research focuses on transnational solidarity and the movement of vulnerable groups across borders. Paloma completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Toronto in the Political Science department and was an editor of the University of Toronto Journal of Political Science during her tenure as a graduate student there. Out of her position at the Zolberg Institute, she has led courses on the detection of racial bias in voting districts in North America, acted as a researcher for NGOs such as the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and written immigration policy recommendation reports with the Abolish ICE working group. She is delighted to be joining the UNPFII delegations and hopes to enrich her knowledge on transnational solidarity by listening to and learning from Indigenous communities worldwide.
About ‘UNPFII 2021 & 2022’
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council of the UN and is one of three mandated bodies assigned to deal with Indigenous peoples’ issues worldwide. It is a two-week long event held in April in New York which provides an opportunity for representatives from around the globe to provide expert advice and recommendations on the challenges they face, advising programmes, funding, and agency support. The UNPFII comprises a variety of UN events and side events organized by Indigenous peoples and organizations to disaggregate information and share space. It provides a platform for awareness and coordination of Indigenous activities within the UN, and is the highest-level event to prepare and share information on Indigenous peoples. The UNPFII also seeks to promote the application of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and uses the UNPFII to collect advice and data to ensure its effectiveness.