The Permanent Forum requests that UNICEF coordinate its activities and operations with the United Nations Programme on Youth, the secretariat of the Forum and the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus to ensure the participation of indigenous youth in the upcoming high-level meeting on youth.
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.
6. The Permanent Forum congratulates the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the adoption of its policy on indigenous and tribal peoples and requests that FAO take measures towards the implementation of the policy at all levels, especially at the country level. Such measures include improving the capacity of FAO staff to work effectively with indigenous peoples and their organizations and establishing a mechanism for partnership. Further, the Permanent Forum requests that FAO involve it in the development of voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests. In addition, the Forum requests participation in the Committee on World Food Security and membership in the Committee’s advisory group.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the right to participate in decision-making and the importance of mechanisms and procedures for the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in relation to article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Forum reiterates that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Maritime Organization should facilitate indigenous peoples’ participation in their processes.
The Permanent Forum urges States to increase the provision of funding to indigenous peoples and communities for water and wastewater systems in order to improve the quality of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as address water pollution and degradation in indigenous communities.
The Permanent Forum notes the progress made in promoting indigenous peoples’ rights through the Programme to Promote ILO Convention No. 169 (PRO-169). The Permanent Forum urges ILO to maintain and strengthen this important project/programme.
The Permanent Forum welcomes a third United Nations seminar on indigenous peoples’ understanding and interpretation of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.
However, elements of the Tkarihwaié:ri code of ethical conduct are voluntary. The Permanent Forum is concerned that paragraph one of the code is restrictive as it includes the following: “They should not be construed as altering or interpreting the obligations of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity or any other international instrument. They should not be interpreted as altering domestic laws, treaties, agreements or other constructive arrangements that may already exist.”
The Permanent Forum reiterates to the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and especially to the parties to the Nagoya Protocol, the importance of respecting and protecting indigenous peoples’ rights to genetic resources consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Consistent with the objective of “fair and equitable” benefit sharing in the Convention and Protocol, all rights based on customary use must be safeguarded and not only “established” rights. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has concluded that such kinds of distinctions would be discriminatory.
The Permanent Forum requests that UNICEF, when completing its strategic policy framework on indigenous peoples, include indigenous youth in the design of the policy. In addition, particular attention is needed to reflect the diversity among indigenous children and to focus on vulnerable groups, such as victims of human trafficking and child pornography, as well as groups facing manifold discrimination based on gender, disability or sexual orientation.
The Permanent Forum thanks Algeria, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Madagascar, Mexico and Norway for their contributions to the Trust Fund of the Permanent Forum in 2010 and, given the steady annual increase of applications from indigenous peoples’ organizations, encourages other States to contribute to the Fund.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the report of the technical expert group meeting on indicators, mechanisms and data for assessing the implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights, held in Geneva in September 2010 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the secretariat of the Permanent Forum. The report sets out important principles and guidance for further work. The Permanent Forum recommends that the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues and, in particular, ILO, OHCHR and the secretariat of the Permanent Forum continue their work to develop a common framework for monitoring the situation and well-being of indigenous peoples and the implementation of the Declaration, including the identification of indigenous-appropriate indicators, possible data sources and linkages to relevant mechanisms. The process should be taken forward in a collaborative manner with other interested institutions, ensuring full consultation and participation of indigenous peoples.