The Forum anticipates that the host country will do its utmost to assure the issuance in a timely manner of entry visas to members of the Forum and observers from non-governmental organizations, pursuant to article IV, section 11, of the Headquarters Agreement, in order to attend its sessions. The Forum also anticipates that other member States hosting United Nations meetings to which indigenous organizations are invited will also do their utmost to ensure the timely issuance of entry visas. The Forum further requests that consideration be given to the waivering of visa fees by host countries for applicants wishing to participate in the work of the Forum and related meetings and activities.
The traditional food systems of indigenous peoples depend on a healthy environment and access to traditional resources and play an important role in maintaining the communities’ cultures and identities and their health and well-being. The Permanent Forum encourages indigenous peoples, States, United Nations entities and civil society organizations to raise awareness and promote the food cultures of indigenous peoples through support for indigenous peoples’ food systems and unconditional access to traditional resources.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the study on indigenous peoples and corporations that examined existing mechanisms and policies related to corporations and indigenous peoples and identified good practices. The Forum recommends that best practices of the application of the right of free, prior and informed consent regarding corporations and indigenous peoples be documented and shared.
During the pandemic, indigenous peoples have been seriously affected by a lack of access to energy, health-care establishments, education centres, infrastructure that supplies clean water, and communication services and information technologies. Governments have made a range of efforts to support economic activity in their responses to the economic impacts of the pandemic. The relaxation of environmental and human rights standards in order to support activities that will promote economic growth, such as logging, mining, large-scale agriculture and various infrastructure and energy projects, threaten indigenous peoples’ territories. The Permanent Forum requests Member States to include indigenous peoples in the preparatory process and the outcome of the high-level dialogue on energy to be held by the General Assembly in September 2021, in order to accelerate action on achieving Goal 7 and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
The Forum recommends that the United Nations Forum on Forests develop effective means to monitor and verify the participation of indigenous peoples in forest policy-making and sustainable forest management, and establish a mechanism, with the participation of indigenous peoples, to assess the performance of governmental and intergovernmental commitments and obligations to uphold and respect indigenous peoples’ rights.
The Permanent Forum expresses its concern about the continuing and long-term negative impacts of large dams on indigenous peoples in many parts of the world. Many large dams continue to be planned for construction on indigenous lands. The Permanent Forum supports the implementation of the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams contained in its report Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-making. The implementation of these recommendations must be in accordance with the provisions set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum is concerned about reports of UNDP entering into a strategic partnership with the oil company GeoPark, a private entity that has been accused by indigenous communities of disregarding their rights, to carry out economic development activities in Colombia without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous communities that will be affected. This partnership contradicts standard 6 (indigenous peoples) of the UNDP social and environmental standards, and the Forum urges UNDP to suspend all related partnership activities until a proper free, prior and informed consent process can be carried out.
The Permanent Forum requests the host country to promptly issue entry visas for its members, Indigenous Peoples and civil society observers, in accordance with article IV, section 11 of the United Nations Headquarters Agreement.3 In addition, the Permanent Forum encourages other Member States hosting United Nations meetings with Indigenous Peoples’ organizations to expedite visa processing. The Permanent Forum also suggests that host countries consider waiving visa fees for participants involved in the Permanent Forum’s work and associated events. Addressing these issues is essential for promoting accountability, responsibility and inclusiveness in Indigenous Peoples’ decision-making processes.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States develop laws and policies to ensure the recognition, continued vitality and protection from misappropriation of indigenous traditional knowledge.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the preparation by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean of the study entitled “Rights of indigenous peoples: achievements and challenges in the Latin American countries”, and encourages other regional commissions to undertake similar studies.
Given that the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent is recognized and affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, questions have arisen concerning its implementation. In the light of such fundamental concerns, the Permanent Forum has decided to prioritize free, prior and informed consent. Therefore, in the context of future work, the Permanent Forum will explore the potential for the development of guidelines on the implementation of free, prior and informed consent. The Permanent Forum will endeavour to do so in collaboration with the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, who are specifically mandated to address the human rights of indigenous peoples. This initiative, as well as those referred to immediately below, are fully consistent with articles 38, 41 and 42 of the Declaration.
The operational policy of the World Bank regarding forests is under review. The Forum recommends to the Bank that it take into account the recommendations made by indigenous peoples and calls for the involvements of Forum members in the Bank’s process of review and revision.