The Permanent Forum welcomes the discussion with the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues and indigenous representatives on the draft toolkit and the development advocacy framework for enhancing the work of the United Nations with indigenous peoples at the country and regional levels and urges finalization of the revised toolkit and the development advocacy framework and their presentation to the United Nations Development Group for further use by country teams.
The Permanent Forum welcomes and fully supports the holding of an international expert seminar on indicators relevant to indigenous peoples and biodiversity, to be organized by the working group on indicators of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in cooperation with the Permanent Forum.
The Permanent Forum urges the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to focus and coordinate their strategies and programmes in order to deal with the problems faced by indigenous peoples in Africa relevant to the mandate of the Permanent Forum on such issues as economic and social development, education, health, human rights, culture and the environment.
Good practices in terms of the implementation of recommendations should be disseminated more widely so that they can provide examples for indigenous peoples, the United Nations system, Governments and others.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations organizations provide technical assistance and convene, in cooperation with indigenous peoples’ organizations, regional workshops on the special theme of the sixth session of the Permanent Forum, namely, “Territories, lands and natural resources”, with the participation of Permanent Forum members, and other experts, indigenous peoples’ representatives, indigenous parliamentarians, State representatives, and representatives of the United Nations system, in order to formulate recommendations for consideration, as part of its preparatory work for the sixth session. The Permanent Forum further recommends that States, organizations and donors provide resources for these regional workshops.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the invitation extended by the Maskwacis Cree and the Confederacy of Treaty Six Chiefs to the members and the secretariat to attend the United Nations Expert Seminar on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous peoples at the Samson Cree Nation from 25 to 27 September 2006. This is a historic first United Nations expert meeting to be held on indigenous treaty territory.
The Permanent Forum and the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues should continue to reflect on how best to ensure that the recommendations of the Forum are implemented by United Nations bodies and organizations, including proposals on how the recommendations should be packaged and information that indigenous peoples can use to influence decisions within the United Nations system.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and Member States organize a regional consultation with indigenous organizations and interested donors to develop a more coordinated, sustainable and longer-term programme in the region which has as its principal objective the strengthening of indigenous organizations so as to ensure that they have the technical capacity to engage with Governments and the international community on human rights.
The Permanent Forum expresses its appreciation to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) for its training programme established to enhance the conflict prevention and peacebuilding capacities of indigenous peoples’ representatives, which has provided outstanding training for 270 indigenous representatives since 2000, and recommends that this important programme be supported henceforth through the regular budget of the United Nations.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its recommendations on the establishment of the indigenous fellowship programme within its secretariat and requests Governments, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), other donors and foundations to contribute to the fellowship programme so that it can be launched and administered in 2007.
The practice of preparing overview reports, the Message Stick (the quarterly newsletter) and the database on the implementation of recommendations should be maintained. The secretariat should review oral interventions delivered during sessions of the Permanent Forum and take note of references made to the implementation of recommendations, which should be added to information provided in written submissions.
The Permanent Forum highly appreciates the initiatives undertaken by IFAD to highlight the need to give a high profile to indigenous issues within the organization and globally by nominating an Assistant President on Special Assignment for Indigenous and Tribal Issues. The Permanent Forum recommends that IFAD ensure that the gains made so far are sustained in the future and urges other organizations and international financial institutions to follow the Fund’s example by assigning a person in a senior management position to coordinate indigenous issues within their organization.