The Permanent Forum welcomes the evaluation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that took place in Guatemala, the results of which were presented to the experts of the Permanent Forum, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Forum recommends that similar practices be implemented by other United Nations country teams and other countries.
With the expansion of the mandate of the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations, the Forum urges OHCHR to assure a full-time staff position to manage the Fund.
As part of its mandate on the environment, the Permanent Forum has raised concerns and made recommendations pertaining to indigenous peoples and forests. The Forum has consistently recommended that the United Nations Forum on Forests and forest-related United Nations bodies develop effective means to monitor and verify the participation of indigenous peoples in forest policymaking and sustainable forest management, and establish a mechanism, with the participation of indigenous peoples, to assess the performance of governmental and intergovernmental commitments and obligations to uphold and respect indigenous peoples’ rights (see E/C.19/2004/23).