The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Permanent Forum urges the Conference of the Parties to establish a commission, as early as possible, to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Framework, especially its target 3 on protecting 30 per cent of the planet’s land and water by 2030, with the full and equitable participation of Indigenous Peoples and respecting their rights to free, prior and informed consent. The establishment of robust grievance mechanisms is vital.
The Permanent Forum reaffirms its support for the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations, which supports indigenous participation to attend its sessions. The Permanent Forum welcomes the contributions made by donors. It notes that contributions to the fund have fallen drastically in recent years and therefore encourages all Governments and others to contribute generously to the Fund.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States that have not already done so assign environment a more important profile in strategic planning initiatives at the national level and, in particular, in e-government initiatives so that the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) for the environment is integrated into planning processes from the beginning, along with other national priorities and initiatives (disposal of ICT equipment).
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.
The Forum recommends that UNICEF consider the appointment of a goodwill ambassador of indigenous children and youth to raise public awareness and that it urge all UNICEF ambassadors to pay attention to the specific problems of indigenous children and youth.
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.
Alarmed at attempts to exclude indigenous peoples of Africa in the application of World Bank Operational Policy 4.10, the Permanent Forum recommends that the World Bank immediately initiate consultations with States and indigenous peoples in Africa as part of its safeguards policy review and ensure the application of safeguards to indigenous peoples of Africa, as directed by articles 19 and 41 of the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations agencies convene a high-level meeting with representatives of indigenous women to review the commitments and actions for securing the human rights of indigenous women highlighted in articles 21, 22 and 41 of the Declaration.
Indigenous peoples in the Pacific rely on marine resources and fisheries for both livelihoods and as a food source. The Permanent Forum encourages United Nations entities to incorporate traditional knowledge into all their work in the region.
The Forum recommends that United Nations bodies, in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity, in coordination with the World Bank, UNDP, FAO and IFAD, and UNEP, organize a workshop on protecting sacred places and ceremonial sites of indigenous peoples with a view to identifying protective mechanisms and instituting a legal framework that make cultural, environmental and social impact assessments studies mandatory and ensure the environmental accountability of economic, social and environmental projects that are proposed to be conducted on sacred sites and on lands, territories and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the participation at its sixth session of indigenous parliamentarians from, inter alia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Greenland, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and encourages indigenous parliamentarians to continue participating at future sessions in their own capacity, with designated seating arrangements.