"The Impact of the COVID-19 on Unrepresented Peoples" UNPO XV General Assembly: Part 1

During the opening plenary of its XV General Assembly, UNPO brought together a panel of experts for an online discussion on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on unrepresented peoples around the world. Following the introduction by UNPO’s Head of Policy & Research on the campaign Coronavirus: Unrepresented & Alone, the debate heard speeches from Mrs Edna Adan Ismail (midwife and Director and Founder of the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Somaliland and pioneer in the struggle for the abolition of FGM; as well as former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland); Professor Fernand de Varennes (UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues); Dr Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj (Journalist, Social Anthropologist and international spokeswoman for indigenous rights); Professor Fiona McConnel (Professor of Geography from the University of Oxford); and Dr Jehan El-Bayoumi (Physician, Professor of Medicine at George Washington University and Founding Director of the Rodham Institute).