The Permanent Forum urges UNDP to further strengthen the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples by choosing indigenous peoples’ organizations as their implementing partners and responsible parties in their projects involving indigenous peoples, especially those with established track records in project implementation. As a corollary to the foregoing, government agencies created to promote and protect the rights and interests of indigenous peoples should be preferred as implementing partners in UNDP programming on indigenous peoples’ issues so that they can effectively perform their mandate
The special rapporteurs, as well as other mechanisms relevant to the Commission on Human Rights, are encouraged to study the effects of armed conflict on the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, especially on women and children.
The Forum expresses its great concern about the effects of armed conflict on indigenous women and children, and recommends that a workshop be convened with the framework of the 10-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in order to formulate strategies to protect vulnerable groups, such as indigenous peoples, especially taking into account the vulnerabilities of indigenous women and children. These strategies should incorporate capacity-building of indigenous women living in areas of armed conflict or in precarious circumstances.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its grave concerns about the situation of indigenous human rights defenders who continue to be harassed, criminalized, prosecuted or even killed for exercising their legitimate rights to protect their lands, territories and resources, especially in the context and activities of extractive industries. The Forum calls upon Member States to take a zero-tolerance approach to violence against indigenous human rights defenders, to develop and implement all measures necessary to respect and protect indigenous human rights defenders, to duly investigate any act against them and to prosecute those responsible to the full extent of the law.
The Permanent Forum recognizes that it is important that the Human Rights Council continues to effectively address indigenous peoples’ issues as human rights issues. The Permanent Forum decides to appoint Ms. Ida Nicolaisen and Mr. Wilton Littlechild to undertake a study on the structures, procedures and mechanisms that presently exist and that might be established to effectively address the human rights situation of indigenous peoples, to arrange for indigenous representation and inclusion in such structures, procedures and mechanisms and to submit a report on the subject to the Permanent Forum by 31 December 2007.
Since the adoption in 2007 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, few States have entered into effective dialogue or partnerships with indigenous peoples or have undertaken adequate legal reforms to implement the Declaration. Based on interventions and reports of representatives of indigenous peoples from all regions of the world at its eleventh session, the Permanent Forum is alarmed about the ongoing gross human rights violations being perpetrated against indigenous peoples and therefore calls upon all States to take urgent action to end such violations and to recognize and respect the human rights standards contained in the Declaration.
Foster the training of indigenous women in order to gain leadership skills to become community advocates and defenders for indigenous women's rights to achieve gender equity
The Permanent Forum calls upon States and corporations to fully recognize the presence and effective participation of indigenous peoples in all negotiation processes relating to the entry of extractive industries, infrastructure projects and other development projects into their communities, consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, inter alia, articles 19, 23 and 32. Furthermore, the Forum calls upon all relevant actors to ensure the application of culturally relevant, gender-balanced and gender-based analysis and gender budgeting as critical elements of economic and social development, consistent with articles 21 and 44 of the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum recommends that OHCHR pursue its efforts to encourage increased use of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by national human rights institutions.
In accordance with international law, the Permanent Forum recommends that all States members of the Organization of American States recognize and respect that the United Nations Declaration constitutes the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples of the world, and requests them to ensure that the draft American declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples is consistent with or exceeds the standards affirmed in the United Nations Declaration.
The Permanent Forum urges the Government of Kenya to implement the recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the rights of Endorois to the ownership of their ancestral lands, to the restitution thereof and to compensation in that connection.
The Permanent Forum welcomes information from the Government of Bangladesh on progress towards the implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. It calls upon Bangladesh to make further efforts towards full implementation of the Accord through constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council, the three Hill District Councils and the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission.