The Permanent Forum notes that the Constitutional Court of Guatemala issued ruling No. 2112-2016 of 24 October 2017 on indigenous peoples’ intellectual collective property. The Permanent Forum urges Guatemala to comply with the ruling and to adopt laws and policies, respecting the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum is concerned that, in their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, Member States are not complying with the Declaration. In one case, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination requested that Norway temporarily suspend the ongoing construction of the Fosen Vind onshore wind power project, which negatively affects the reindeer herding of the South Sami people. The Government of Norway, having concluded that its administrative and legal processes were sufficient, did not implement the interim measures. The Forum urges Member States to respect and comply with decisions made by the United Nations treaty bodies.
The Permanent Forum also recommends that WIPO organize a second indigenous expert workshop on intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions before 2021
The Permanent Forum calls on States to enter into discussions with indigenous peoples whose traditional lands are now incorporated in protected areas, with a view to reaching binding agreements that will not only acknowledge the legitimate interests of wildlife conservation but also recognize and guarantee the rights of those communities under articles 8 (2), 18, 19, 26 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum expresses concern over the misappropriation and misuse of indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, and urges States and companies, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, to take effective measures to recognize and protect their rights, in accordance with article 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In this regard, the Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to take measures to safeguard indigenous peoples’ rights to intellectual property by adopting laws and public policies, in which it is recognized that indigenous peoples have the right over their creations, knowledge, discoveries, works, traditional cultural expressions and other elements.
The 2030 Agenda is now in its fourth year of implementation, yet few countries refer to indigenous peoples in their voluntary national reviews. The Permanent Forum therefore urges countries undertaking voluntary national reviews at the high-level political forum on sustainable development to include indigenous peoples under all Sustainable Development Goals.
The Permanent Forum requests the Global Environment Facility, as well as other funding mechanisms, to prioritize support for conservation approaches that are led or co-managed by indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States to reform the agreements of intergovernmental conservation organizations, such as the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, to comply with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that WIPO commission the updating of the technical review of key intellectual property-related issues of the WIPO draft instruments on genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, which was undertaken in 2016 by James Anaya (WIPO/GRTKF/IC/29/INF/10), to reflect current issues, with an emphasis on concepts such as “balancing” and “public domain” and how these might conflict with indigenous peoples’ human rights and customary laws, and the obligation to incorporate and respect human rights in the work of WIPO.
The Permanent Forum expresses concern that indigenous peoples are not receiving adequate information regarding the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level and encourages Governments, United Nations entities, indigenous peoples and civil society organizations to convene workshops and other forums to ensure their effective participation in implementing the 2030 Agenda.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Union for Conservation of Nature actively engage with indigenous organizations, relevant United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations and other actors to develop a set of actions and commitments in relation to conservation and human rights in the context of the post-2020 biodiversity framework and the next World Conservation Congress.
In the discussion on reconciliation and intergenerational trauma, there was agreement that healing requires a return to culture and a relationship with the land. The Permanent Forum recommends that Governments support programmes led by indigenous peoples to address intergenerational trauma as a way of moving towards true reconciliation.