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 recognizes the important interconnections between the Sustainable Development Goals and indigenous languages, as well as the integration of gender equality principles, as described in the Global Action Plan, and proposes that such indicators be included in the post-2030 development agenda to ensure the sustainability of outcomes and the continuity of efforts established by the International Decade. The Permanent Forum recommends that UNESCO and its member States initiate work, with the possible assistance of the Statistical Commission, on indigenous language-related data, with adequate funding to support the post-2030 priorities. The Permanent Forum invites the Indigenous Navigator to offer its tools and data for the global collection of data on indigenous languages.
The Permanent Forum invites UNESCO to call jointly for a world conference on linguistic diversity, indigenous languages, identity and education. The United Nations Member States are encouraged to provide political and financial support for such a conference.
The Permanent Forum calls upon UNESCO, in its coordination of the International Decade, to give attention to the role of indigenous languages in the preservation of traditional food and knowledge systems that are important to climate change adaptation strategies.
The Permanent Forum urges UNESCO to develop an indigenous peoples’ platform within the agency to ensure that UNESCO language programmes provide tangible benefits to indigenous communities and ensure that indigenous peoples are active in all aspects of the work of UNESCO.
The accessibility of general recommendation No. 39 to Indigenous Peoples is crucial to ensure its effective implementation and impact on the ground. The Permanent Forum recommends its translation into Indigenous languages spoken by Indigenous Peoples in their States before the end of 2032.
The Permanent Forum appeals to governments in the Arctic, Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia to give financial and political support to their indigenous peoples to play an active role in the implementation of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, including for indigenous peoples and experts to meet at conferences and other relevant regional meetings and events.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the General Assembly, by 2020, proclaim an international year of indigenous languages and draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages and to take further urgent steps at the national and international levels.
The Permanent Forum also calls upon Member States to expand indigenous language immersion methods and bilingual schools to support indigenous children and youth to reclaim their languages. The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States, where appropriate, incorporate intercultural and bilingual education in national school curricula, including through language immersion programmes, and ensure that the language of the subnational region or area in which the school is located is part of the curricula. In this regard, the Permanent Forum recommends that Member States, in close cooperation with indigenous peoples, establish educational programmes on indigenous languages for indigenous teachers, filmmakers, translators and interpreters, scientists, information technology specialists and other professionals. Such efforts would support the expansion of domains covered by indigenous languages and, consequently, contribute to language development and maintenance and the restoration of indigenous peoples’ pride in their own languages.
The Permanent Forum expresses concern for the state of the world’s indigenous languages. It is estimated that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 oral languages in the world today, most of them spoken by very few individuals. The Forum recommends the adoption of a rights-based approach towards indigenous language issues that considers the full spectrum of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Declaration. The Forum also recommends that Member States, the United Nations system, indigenous peoples’ organizations and other stakeholders share initiatives and strategies undertaken for, with and by indigenous peoples in order to recover, use and revitalize indigenous languages, including through the use of information and communication technologies.
The Permanent Forum underlines the need for the examination of national policies, practices and funding programmes on Indigenous media, including capacitybuilding and content production in Indigenous languages by Indigenous media professionals, including Indigenous women, and for the promotion of international cooperation, knowledge-sharing and cooperation among Indigenous media and other partners, including mainstream media and Governments. The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in partnership with relevant United Nations entities and Indigenous Peoples, conduct a study on Indigenous media and present their findings at the annual session of the Permanent Forum in 2025.
The Permanent Forum invites the General Assembly to request that UNESCO report on activities carried out during the International Year, and subsequent impacts and follow-up activities after 2019, at its seventy-fifth session.