Considering their impact on the sexual health and reproductive rights of indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum calls, in paragraph 62 of the report, for “a legal review of United Nations chemical conventions, in particular the Rotterdam Convention, to ensure that they are in conformity with international human rights standards, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States develop laws and policies to ensure the recognition, continued vitality and protection from misappropriation of indigenous traditional knowledge.
The Permanent Forum thanks the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional of the Government of Spain, the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Swedish International Biodiversity Programme and IFAD for their financial support for the regional, thematic and international seminars on indicators relevant to indigenous peoples, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Millennium Development Goals, and urges other donors to contribute to this important work.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States to provide financial support to the trust fund on indigenous issues (fund 32FII) to support the work of the Forum in implementing its mandate and to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples to facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples in key United Nations meetings and processes. The Forum recommends that States, private foundations, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs support the work of indigenous-led funding initiatives.
The operational policy of the World Bank regarding forests is under review. The Forum recommends to the Bank that it take into account the recommendations made by indigenous peoples and calls for the involvements of Forum members in the Bank’s process of review and revision.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the initial efforts made by FAO towards the elaboration of a methodological discussion platform to address indigenous peoples’ territorial rights. The Permanent Forum recommends that FAO and other interested or partner agencies continue the joint elaboration of the participatory methodology and start using it in the field in order to strengthen the delimitation, titling and negotiated development processes specifically targeting indigenous peoples’ needs
The Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to analyse the compatibility of domestic laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular with a view to harmonizing laws dealing with Arctic renewable resources upon which indigenous peoples depend, and to include the indigenous peoples of the Arctic in a direct and meaningful way in this analysis.
The traditional food systems of indigenous peoples depend on a healthy environment and access to traditional resources and play an important role in maintaining the communities’ cultures and identities and their health and well-being. The Permanent Forum encourages indigenous peoples, States, United Nations entities and civil society organizations to raise awareness and promote the food cultures of indigenous peoples through support for indigenous peoples’ food systems and unconditional access to traditional resources.