Priestess Schulthess is the President and founding member of the Indigenous Peoples Ancestral Spiritual Council, and the Honorary President of Religions for Peace in Costa Rica. She has over 30 years of expertise in multilateral diplomacy on behalf of indigenous people, women, and the environment, and also served as the Executive Director of the International Indigenous Commission from 1989 to 1992.
Priestess Schulthess was instrumental in negotiations leading to the Proclamation of the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in 1993, as well as the drafting of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She participated in the revision of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 for Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child. She actively promoted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (‘Earth Summit’), and the follow-up of the Climate Change and Rio + 20 negotiation processes.