The Permanent Forum welcomes the “International Conference on Biological and Cultural Diversity: Diversity for Development and Development for Diversity” (8-10 June 2010, Montreal, Canada) as a useful dialogue on the interface of diversities and development and notes its goal to consider a future collaborative programme of work between the Secretariat of the Conference on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), other relevant agencies, including the Forum and relevant indigenous organizations and non-governmental organizations, and decides to send the Chair of the Forum to report on the outcomes of the ninth session of the Permanent Forum regarding the theme.
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 Forum recommends that executive heads of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes that have not yet done so adopt policies on indigenous peoples and designate focal points for addressing indigenous issues relevant to each respective agency’s mandate in order to facilitate the mainstreaming of indigenous issues within the United Nations system.
The Forum recommends strengthening the mechanisms for collaboration with United Nations agencies and Governments, and monitoring compliance with and the implementation of its recommendations made to United Nations agencies and Governments.
The Forum recommends that the World Bank continue dialogue and direct consultation with indigenous peoples, and that a permanent dialogue be held among indigenous peoples, the World Bank and the Forum.
The Permanent Forum calls on Member States, UNDP and other relevant organizations to effectively involve indigenous peoples in the review processes of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals at the national and local levels and to ensure that disaggregated data on how the Goals are achieved in indigenous peoples territories be included.
The Permanent Forum recommends that forests that have been taken by States from indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent in the name of conservation policies be restored immediately.
The Permanent Forum notes with concern the slow progress made in the negotiations on the final protocol on access and benefit-sharing. The Permanent Forum reiterates its requests to the parties to the Convention to take into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the negotiation, adoption and implementation of the access and benefit-sharing protocol.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the importance of indigenous peoples knowledge systems as the basis of their development with culture and identity and therefore recommends that ongoing international processes, such as negotiations on the international regime on access and benefit-sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore of the World Intellectual Property Organization, should recognize and integrate the crucial role and relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum urges States to review their policies on biofuel industries, which, in the name of remedying the impacts of climate change, are resulting in the deforestation of large forest areas and the displacement of indigenous peoples. That increases the vulnerability of indigenous communities and in particular of those living in voluntary isolation.
The Permanent Forum appreciates the efforts made by the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, which comprises the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, to inform, consult and involve indigenous peoples in United Nations activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and encourages them to further consolidate the partnership
The Permanent Forum recommends that interested parties organize an international expert group meeting on the theme “Indigenous peoples: sacred plants and sites, articles 11, 24 and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, and requests that the conclusions of such a meeting be submitted to the Forum at its tenth session.