Reinforce the investments in population and reproductive health which is crucial for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals - to reduce poverty, achieve universal primary education, improve maternal and child health, curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, promote gender equality, ensure sustainable development, and establish a strong partnership for development
The Permanent Forum applauds the effective participation mechanisms for indigenous peoples in such mechanisms as the Convention on Biological Diversity Working Group on article 8 (j) and related provisions, and recommends that, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, such practices be extended to all critical areas of interest to indigenous peoples, such as the Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing and in particular the Working Group on Protected Areas.
The Permanent Forum applauds the good work of the nomadic herders project on enhancing the resilience of pastoral ecosystems and livelihoods, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/GRID-Arendal and the Association of World Reindeer Herders. The Permanent Forum recommends that the Global Environment Facility Council approve the project as a good example of a transboundary project by and for indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the International Council on Mining and Metals provide a list of and invite members of the Forum, members of affected indigenous peoples and indigenous experts to visit the project sites for the purpose of reporting back to the Forum at its tenth session.
The Permanent Forum notes with concern the slow progress made in the negotiations on the final protocol on access and benefit-sharing. The Permanent Forum reiterates its requests to the parties to the Convention to take into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the negotiation, adoption and implementation of the access and benefit-sharing protocol.
The Permanent Forum encourages States, multilateral environmental agencies and other conservation agencies to adopt a rights-based approach to conservation and follow-up and to systematically evaluate how the rights are implemented.
The Permanent Forum, reaffirming the recommendations on health made at its first, second and third sessions, further recommends that all relevant United Nations entities, especially WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNFPA, as well as regional health organizations and Governments, fully incorporate a cultural perspective into health policies, programmes and reproductive health services aimed at providing indigenous women with quality health care, including emergency obstetric care, voluntary family planning and skilled attendance at birth. In the latter context, the roles of traditional midwives should be re-evaluated and expanded so that they may assist indigenous women during their reproductive health processes and act as cultural brokers between health systems and the indigenous communities’ values and world views
The Permanent Forum welcomes indigenous peoples’ contributions to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The Forum underlines the need to develop a new programme of work and institutional arrangements on article 8 (j) and other provisions of the Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples. It recommends that the secretariat of the Convention facilitate a capacity-building process for indigenous peoples to enable them to prepare themselves for the development of new programmes of work and institutional arrangements.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its invitation to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to adopt a general recommendation on indigenous women by 2020, in accordance with the Declaration and other international instruments. The Forum recommends that the general recommendation on indigenous women consider issues related to the individual and collective rights to equality, non-discrimination and self-determination; social and economic rights, including the rights to decent work and to land, territory and resources; the right to water and food; cultural rights; civil and political rights; and the right to live free of any form of violence.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Arctic Council formally engage with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to jointly follow up the International Experts Meeting on Climate Change and Arctic Sustainable Development: scientific, social, cultural and educational challenges (3-6 March 2009 in Monaco).
The Permanent Forum recommends that the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Union for Conservation of Nature actively engage with indigenous organizations, relevant United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations and other actors to develop a set of actions and commitments in relation to conservation and human rights in the context of the post-2020 biodiversity framework and the next World Conservation Congress.
The Permanent Forum appreciates the efforts made by the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, which comprises the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, to inform, consult and involve indigenous peoples in United Nations activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and encourages them to further consolidate the partnership