The Global Indigenous Youth Caucus is a global youth platform. The main objective is to promote the participation of Indigenous youth in international fora. Since the first session Indigenous youth have gathered together, but it was not until 2008 that we were recognized by the UN Permanent Forum. We have since hosted preparatory meetings before the session and capacity building. Lately, we have expanded to the three mechanisms that have direct mandates of Indigenous decisions in the UN. For instance, we have meetings with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Vicky Tauli-Corpuz. We meet with her and provide direct information on specific cases in a country. When she visits the country, we organize the youth in the country so they can meet with [her]. We also have expanded our participation in the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Last time we were able to host an afternoon caucus and draft a statement of recommendations.
I am also part of the Red de Jóvenes Indígenas de Latin America, which is a regional network. The focus of the network has been on health, agriculture, and participation. One of the issues in the regions is that we don’t have access to sexual education from an intercultural perspective. Indigenous people begin sexual activity earlier in life, causing earlier motherhood, which has been a problem in particular for women.