The Permanent Forum encourages and commends the development and implementation of environmental monitoring systems led by Indigenous Peoples that utilize the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and modern technology to oversee and manage natural resources effectively. Such approaches that are aligned with Indigenous Peoples’ autonomy objectives provide valuable data for global environmental efforts.
The Permanent Forum calls for increased investments in educational programmes and capacity-building initiatives that empower Indigenous Peoples to navigate legal and bureaucratic processes in managing their resources in keeping with their cultural and spiritual values and self-determined development. These initiatives should support the transmission of Indigenous knowledge and skills across generations, enhancing resilience and sustainability.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States and financial institutions to enhance direct financial support for Indigenous Peoples-led projects with funding mechanisms that are equitable, non-discriminatory, accessible, flexible and responsive to Indigenous Peoples’ self-determined priorities across all seven sociocultural regions, without political impediments that could obstruct fair resource allocation. Such support should empower Indigenous Peoples to manage their environmental resources and engage in sustainable economic activities without reliance on intermediaries.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States in the region enhance the protection of Indigenous Peoples through recognition and autonomy, in line with the Declaration, by revising legal and policy frameworks. Governments should rectify the injustices of the colonial past, taking into consideration Indigenous Peoples and their perspectives, in particular those of Indigenous youth, ensuring the participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision-making.
The Permanent Forum urges the Governments of Canada and Denmark and the government of Greenland to follow up on and implement the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur subsequent to his country visits in 2023. The Forum recommends that a human rights-based approach be taken when investigating and addressing the practices and impacts of the so-called intrauterine device campaign affecting Inuit women and adolescents in Greenland.
The lack of recognition of Indigenous Peoples violates their right to self-determination. Their legal recognition should be aligned with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the report of the Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.1 The Permanent Forum invites African Governments to join groups of friends of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum appreciates the organization of a seminar on advances and challenges in the implementation of the Declaration, which was held in Mexico City and attended by Indigenous experts from Latin America, and which resulted in a series of recommendations included in the document “Mexico-Tenochtitlán Agreements on the Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. The Forum calls upon the organizers of that seminar to report on progress made with regard to those recommendations in the outcome document of the seminar.
The Permanent Forum urges the European Union to include the standards of the Declaration within its corporate sustainability due diligence regulations and rules, in particular in the context of implementing the Critical Raw Materials Act on the territories of Indigenous Peoples, both inside and outside the European Union.
The Permanent Forum invites the Development Coordination Office to include Forum members in its future meetings with resident coordinators for Indigenous Peoples’ issues to be heard and to share experiences on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the national level.
The United Nations Summit of the Future should ensure mechanisms are established for the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum is concerned over the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland to include individuals not recognized by the Sami community in the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll. The Forum urges the Parliament of Finland to amend the Sami Parliament Act in line with Sami Parliament proposals to protect the Sami People’s right to self-determination and ensure that their electoral processes reflect their standards of community membership.
The Permanent Forum regrets the outcome and impact of the “Indigenous Voice” referendum on Indigenous Peoples, in particular Indigenous youth, held in Australia in 2023, which undermines their journey towards the full realization of the right to self-determination for Indigenous Peoples. The Forum urges the Government of Australia to implement the Declaration.
