Displaying 1 - 12 of 53

Addressee: CBD

Paragraph Number: 27
Session: 10 (2011)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum reiterates to the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and especially to the parties to the Nagoya Protocol, the importance of respecting and protecting indigenous peoples’ rights to genetic resources consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Consistent with the objective of “fair and equitable” benefit sharing in the Convention and Protocol, all rights based on customary use must be safeguarded and not only “established” rights. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has concluded that such kinds of distinctions would be discriminatory.

Area of Work: Environment, Traditional Knowledge

Addressee: ECOSOC, UNGA

Paragraph Number: 60
Session: 18 (2019)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recommends that the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly ensure the meaningful participation of indigenous peoples and the Forum at the meetings of the 2019 high-level political forum on sustainable development, to be convened under the auspices of the Council and the Assembly in July and September 2019, respectively. The Forum stresses that the contributions of indigenous peoples to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda should be adequately reflected in the outcome document of the high-level political forums convened under the auspices of the Council and of the Assembly.

Area of Work: 2030 Agenda, HLPF

Addressee: WIPO

Paragraph Number: 31
Session: 13 (2014)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum welcomes the study to examine challenges in the African region to protecting traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore prepared by Paul Kanyinke Sena (E/C.19/2014/2), acknowledges the support provided by the WIPO secretariat towards the completion of that study and, in this regard, calls upon the WIPO secretariat to extend its outreach and awareness-raising activities in respect of indigenous peoples, with a particular focus on African indigenous peoples so as to increase their awareness of WIPO processes, and to further develop culturally appropriate training and capacity-building materials for indigenous peoples consistent with article 41 of the Declaration.

Area of Work: Methods of Work, Traditional Knowledge

Addressee: IFAD

Paragraph Number: 72
Session: 21 (2022)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum takes note of the sixth call for proposals of the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility of IFAD, which is focused on advancing indigenous peoples’ biodiversity conservation and sustainable management for adaptation and resilience to climate change. The Permanent Forum urges IFAD to facilitate direct access to climate financing to indigenous peoples’ communities and organizations through the Facility and the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme, and encourages Governments and donors to support those initiatives.

Area of Work: Environment, Climate Change, Economic and Social Development

Addressee: Member States

Paragraph Number: 44
Session: 15 (2016)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States, owing to the threat of biopiracy and the pharmaceutical industry, develop legislative measures, with the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples, to protect traditional medicine and knowledge, and to secure the rights of indigenous peoples to intellectual property.

Area of Work: Traditional Knowledge
Paragraph Number: 20
Session: 3 (2004)
Full Text:

The Forum recommends that the United Nations system consider the following recommendations:

(a) The United Nations system should fully explore the protection, use and promotion of indigenous (including traditional) knowledge and ensure synergies across the relevant bodies currently investigating the issues (specifically the World Intellectual Property Organization, UNESCO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Health Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and others) and furthermore should invite the Forum to participate;

(b) UNESCO should continue to investigate indigenous pedagogy and its application to indigenous education in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples and the Forum and other relevant bodies. The study should include the use of such strategies as boarding schools and both their negative and positive effects. To assist with this investigation into indigenous education, UNESCO is urged to facilitate regional conferences and a global forum on indigenous education to identify both barriers to educational equity and good practice;

(c) The Forum calls upon Governments and UNESCO to give more attention (by increasing their budgets) to developing quality indigenous education policies (with the participation of indigenous peoples) to achieve the Dakar objectives. “Education for all” is one of the fundamental objectives of the World Education Forum that should be achieved by 2015;

(d) The Forum encourages the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNESCO and other agencies to continue to support, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, intercultural and bilingual education programmes and to promote in particular the right of education for girls;

(e) The Forum should work with UNITAR to coordinate training for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system;

(f) UNESCO is requested to facilitate a world indigenous education conference, with appropriate United Nations partners (the Forum, UNESCO, UNITAR etc.), Member States and indigenous peoples. Furthermore, UNESCO should invite indigenous peoples and the Forum to participate in United Nations activities in the field of education. UNESCO has recently completed and distributed a publication on best practices for indigenous peoples education and this should be promoted throughout the international community;

(g) UNICEF advocates bilingual and cross-cultural education for indigenous peoples and conducts schools for girls and women’s literacy programmes in Latin America, and this initiative should be further encouraged and expanded;

(h) The Forum recommends that relevant agencies and Governments, on a regional basis, should provide technical services and the political and moral support needed for the creation, recognition and functioning of future international indigenous universities;

(i) Taking into account the importance of UNESCO national commissions, the Forum recommends that the Economic and Social Council and Governments facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples in the regional commissions with the incorporation of indigenous representation;

(j) The Forum, to underscore the crucial role of language skills to sustainable development and in celebration of the United Nations Year on Education for Sustainable Development (2005), recommends that the secretariat of the Forum, together with the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF and UNESCO, explore the possibility of organizing a regional workshop in Asia or Africa on the theme “Indigenous children and language education”, to discuss policies, programmes and practical experiences with bilingual education to strengthen additive learning through the use of mother tongue and the “indigenization” of curricula in formal schooling, among members of the Forum, United Nations agencies, Governments (especially departments of education), indigenous and tribal representatives and indigenous education experts.

Area of Work: Education, Traditional Knowledge

Addressee: UN agencies

Paragraph Number: 114
Session: 9 (2010)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum invites United Nations bodies with expertise on human rights, cultural rights and the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples to provide legal and technical comments on the revised draft protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization for transmission to parties to the Convention for consideration in their final negotiations.

Area of Work: Traditional Knowledge, Human Rights
Paragraph Number: 35
Session: 7 (2008)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum urges indigenous academics, scientists and traditional knowledge holders to organize their own processes to consolidate their knowledge and experiences in climate change science into a report that can feed into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Permanent Forum.

Area of Work: Environment, Traditional Knowledge
Paragraph Number: 37
Session: 17 (2018)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations entities, including the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, take effective measures to support the promotion of indigenous languages and the successful implementation of the goals and objectives of the International Year, including in activities related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the systemwide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples, the celebration of international days and other processes.

Area of Work: Indigenous Languages, 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Addressee: WIPO

Paragraph Number: 50
Session: 11 (2012)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum requests that WIPO commission a technical review, to be conducted by an indigenous expert, focusing on the draft texts concerning traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions, and to provide comments thereon to the Intergovernmental Committee through the Forum. The review should be undertaken within the framework of indigenous human rights.

Area of Work: Traditional Knowledge

Addressee: Member States

Paragraph Number: 45
Session: 22 (2023)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recognizes development of renewable energy sources but remains alarmed that irresponsible development related to green technology and the green transition, has led, at times, to violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including mineral extraction and the building of hydroelectric dams and other large-scale infrastructure without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States provide the resources necessary to develop and implement Indigenous Peoples’ own free, prior and informed consent protocols in such contexts.

Area of Work: Environment, Economic and Social Development, Climate Change, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)
Paragraph Number: 140
Session: 4 (2005)
Full Text:

The Forum recommends that the Inter-Agency Support Group convene a technical workshop on indigenous traditional knowledge, in collaboration with United Nations agencies dealing with this issue, with the participation of indigenous experts, with a view to promoting a collaborative, complementary and holistic approach to traditional knowledge in order to enhance better understanding of indigenous concerns and their possible solution and requests the workshop to submit its report to the Forum at its fifth session

Area of Work: Traditional Knowledge