25 Years delivering Human Rights Training for Indigenous Peoples: the University of Deusto marks its milestone at the United Nations

The Pedro Arrupe Human Rights Institute at the University of Deusto marked the 25th anniversary of its Human Rights Training Programme for Indigenous Peoples (PFDHPI) with a commemorative event in Geneva, held during the 18th session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP).

This pioneering international programme, supportedby the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation (eLankidetza), has trained over 150 Indigenous leaders from Latin America since its launch in 2000. From the outset, it has aimed to strengthen the defence of collective rights, territorial work, and the political participation of Indigenous peoples at local, regional, and international levels.

The event, held on Wednesday 16 July at the Palais des Nations, brought together allies, former scholarship recipients, and institutional representatives to reflect on the programme’s journey, its impact on the defence of collective rights, and the future challenges of human rights education from an Indigenous perspective.

During the event, the book Los derechos de los pueblos indígenas: Luchas por la descolonización (Martínez de Bringas, A., 2024) was presented — a commemorative publication that brings together analyses and experiences from various territories. One of the most moving moments was the screening of a video featuring testimonies from former scholarship recipients, who shared how the training had strengthened their community advocacy and participation in international spaces.

A scholarship recipient in the 2025 PFDHPI programme, Palmira Flores from the Triqui people (Mexico), also spoke, highlighting the depth and impact of her experience at the University of Deusto. She emphasised that the programme combines rigorous theoretical training with an ethical and context-sensitive approach, making it, in her words, “the most comprehensive, rigorous, and committed programme in Indigenous rights”.

She particularly praised the quality of the teaching staff, made up of “lawyers who promoted landmark Indigenous rights cases, as well as experts from international mechanisms…,” and the relevance of the content covered. According to her, the training at the University of Deusto not only strengthened her conceptual and legal tools but also prepared her to engage more effectively in spaces such as the United Nations, where, she noted, “what we once studied theoretically, we are now experiencing in the EMRIP session”.

The event was organised by the Institute in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA). It forms part of the programme’s advocacy spaces alongside the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Scholarship Programme.