The Senior Advisor for Indigenous Peoples’ Issues was established at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2012 and is supported by the Human Rights Division at the Center for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG). The role of the Senior Advisor, as specified by the U.S. Congress in Public Law 112-74, is to: Advise the Director of United States Foreign Assistance and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development on matters relating to the rights and needs of Indigenous Peoples internationally and represent the United States Government on relevant matters in meetings with foreign governments and multilateral institutions; Provide for the oversight and coordination of all resources, programs, projects, and activities of the United States Government to protect the rights and address the needs of Indigenous Peoples internationally; and Develop and coordinate assistance strategies with specific goals, guidelines, benchmarks, and impact assessments (including support for local indigenous peoples’ organizations).
