The Permanent Forum welcomes the announcement during this session of the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights by eight global conservation organizations — the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund, Fauna and Flora International, Wetlands International, BirdLife International, the Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Conservation International — which aims to promote the integration of human rights in conservation policy and practice, based on their common interest in promoting positive links between conservation and rights of people to secure their livelihoods, enjoy healthy and productive environments and live with dignity. The Forum recommends that these conservation organizations ensure the full participation of indigenous peoples in the implementation of the Initiative. The Forum further recommends that conservation organizations that have projects that have led to the eviction of indigenous peoples from their forests provide redress and restitution to such victims.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiatives of national human rights institutions, such as those from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and encourages other human rights institutions to conduct national inquiries on the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the capacity-building efforts being carried out by the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity with the Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network for the Latin American and Caribbean Region, thanks to the patronage of the Government of Spain, and encourages other donor Governments to consider sponsoring similar efforts in other regions, in particular in Africa and in the Pacific region.
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) should embrace the cultural dimensions of sustainable development. The Permanent Forum recommends that the Conference approve the cultural indicators as a fourth “pillar” for the elaboration of development policies for all peoples.
OHCHR, the secretariat of the Permanent Forum, ILO, the World Bank Group and other relevant United Nations entities, including United Nations country teams, should focus on increasing the understanding of indigenous peoples’ underlying material rights to land and the need to give material rights priority over process rights. These agencies should undertake analytical work on how the intensity and exclusivity criteria that are commonly encompassed in domestic property rights systems could be understood in the context of international human rights standards related to indigenous property rights.
The Forum urges all relevant United Nations entities, especially UNDP, UNIFEM, UNICEF and UNFPA, to:
(a) Develop methodologies and strategies to research the underlying causes of the "feminization" and "indigenization" of poverty and to develop programmes, which effectively address these underlying causes of marginalization;
(b) Perform systematic needs assessments for indigenous women based on the information provided by indigenous women’s groups and NGOs;
(c) Involve local, indigenous women in a decision-making capacity in all aspects of the programme cycle.The Forum recommends that all relevant United Nations entities research the needs of indigenous women and the causes of "indigenization" of poverty.The Forum recommends that all relevant United Nations entities research the needs of indigenous women and the causes of "indigenization" of poverty.
The Permanent Forum again urges Member States to ensure that Indigenous Peoples are afforded full and effective participation in all planning and policy development to address climate change. Indigenous-led climate change policies incorporate the vital knowledge of Indigenous Peoples for land management and stewardship of natural resources while protecting health, equity, justice and sustainability. Principles of free, prior and informed consent must be followed in the development of all climate change policies and actions.
In this regard, the Permanent Forum recommends that Member States and the United Nations system take due account of the outcome document and the conclusions of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be held in September 2014, given that this process is deeply interrelated with the post-2015 process and will set the context for future work on indigenous peoples’ issues.
The Forum recommends the creation of a global, legally binding regime for toxic industrial chemicals and hazardous pesticides, the vast majority of which are currently unregulated under existing conventions, to protect the rights of everyone, including indigenous peoples, from the grave threats to human rights presented by the ongoing chemical intensification of the global economy. Such a regime should have strong accountability and compliance mechanisms and be in conformity with international human rights standards, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that international financial institutions adopt and incorporate the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent, without qualification, into their safeguard policies and project-related instruments. International financial institutions must ensure that their clients and borrowers engage in processes with indigenous peoples affected by bank-financed projects to secure their free, prior and informed consent.
The Permanent Forum calls upon States that have not already done so to engage in constructive partnerships with indigenous peoples to achieve the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to adopt specific action plans, strategies or other measures that will deliver required financial and technical assistance to indigenous peoples in order for them to achieve and exercise self-determination.
The Permanent Forum is requested to support the planning and development of a world indigenous forum on the right to water, including the cultural and spiritual dimensions of water and peace. Planning for the forum shall be carried out through appropriate United Nations agencies and bodies and indigenous peoples’ organizations from all regions that have been working on water issues, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Water Education, the World Water Assessment Programme and UNICEF.