The Permanent Forum welcomes the approval of the approach to recognizing and working with indigenous and local knowledge adopted at the fifth plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, in 2017, and the establishment of a participatory mechanism for indigenous peoples and local communities in the work of the Platform. The Forum urges the identification of procedures and methodologies for effective implementation of the approach and the participatory mechanism, in partnership with indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session to share with its members the main conclusions and recommendations emanating from the half-day dialogue on the World Conference held by the members of the Forum within the framework of its eleventh session.
The Permanent Forum reiterates the recommendations made in paragraphs 80 and 81 of the report on its eleventh session (E/2012/43-E.C19/2012/13) and invites the indigenous peoples’ caucus and the Indigenous Global Coordinating Group to ensure the equal and inclusive participation of indigenous women, older persons, young people and persons with disabilities in the World Conference and its preparatory processes.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the establishment of the steering committee on indigenous peoples of Africa that consists of the working group on indigenous populations/communities and minorities in Africa as well as interested members of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues. The Forum invites the steering committee to work with the members of the Forum to support the implementation of the system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the African continent. The Forum also encourages United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to establish a similar inter-agency group in Asia.
The Permanent Forum calls on States to enter into discussions with indigenous peoples whose traditional lands are now incorporated in protected areas, with a view to reaching binding agreements that will not only acknowledge the legitimate interests of wildlife conservation but also recognize and guarantee the rights of those communities under articles 8 (2), 18, 19, 26 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Forum recognizes the efforts of the World Bank in the consultation process and the review of its policy on indigenous peoples. The members of the Forum request that the final draft policy be made available to them before its presentation to the Board of the World Bank. The members of the Forum express their great interest in reviewing the draft policy and making recommendations, as well as in meeting with the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the “Study on the impacts of the Doctrine of Discovery on indigenous peoples, including mechanisms, processes and instruments of redress” (E/C.19/2014/3), with references to the Declaration and particularly to articles 26 to 28, 32 and 40, be submitted to the President of the General Assembly and to Member States as a reference guide in the discussions relating to the high-level plenary meeting/World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations entities review language and terminology on native breeds, local seed varieties and endemic varieties of plants and animals. The Permanent Forum recommends differentiating such terminology from indigenous peoples’ foods, seeds and breeds, by avoiding the use of the term “indigenous” to dispel confusion.
The Permanent Forum considers that the two-day high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples should be held in New York in September 2014, during the week leading up to the opening of the general debate, in order to encourage the highest level of participation of Member States, in particular Heads of State or Government, and with the full participation of indigenous peoples, heads of United Nations organizations, funds and programmes and non-governmental organizations.
The Permanent Forum encourages Member States to review recommendations made at past sessions, renew efforts at their implementation and report on progress made by 2021. It invites the United Nations system to support the States’ efforts in this regard.
The Permanent Forum calls on the European Commission, United Nations agencies, the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, bilateral development agencies, export credit agencies and international and regional financial institutions, such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, to review, strengthen and implement their policies with regard to indigenous peoples in general, and indigenous peoples in Asia in particular, and to use the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,1 as a framework for reference.
The Permanent Forum notes the initiative of the United Nations country team in Nicaragua to establish a consultative committee comprising members of indigenous peoples, Afrodescendants and country team staff, in order to promote and strengthen the realization of the rights and principles set out in international human rights instruments. The Permanent Forum urges other United Nations country teams to follow this example and establish similar consultative mechanisms.