The Permanent Forum is concerned about the reduction in indigenous-specific funding for programmes and projects by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, for example the depletion of resources of the voluntary fund of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for accredited indigenous peoples and local community observers. The Forum recommends that such United Nations entities ensure substantial funding to support targeted programmes and projects for indigenous peoples consistent with article 41 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Millennium Campaign should raise awareness about the Millennium Development Goals and indigenous peoples, providing space for indigenous youth to express their views and share experiences related to Millennium Development Goals issues, enable young indigenous people to interact with their national leaders, and facilitate networking between youth groups to crystallise new projects. The campaigns should include several elements including school-based outreach, national conferences, local workshops, media activities, including phone-in radio programs and televised debates, essay and expression contests and service days
The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity of two additional indicators for traditional knowledge: (a) status and trends in land use change and land tenure in the traditional territories of indigenous and local communities, and (b) status and trends in the practice of traditional occupations, to complement the adopted indicator on status and trends in traditional languages. The Forum urges the secretariat of the Convention and agencies working on these issues, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ILO, FAO, IFAD and the International Land Coalition, to collaborate with a view to fully operationalizing those indicators.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and Member States organize a regional consultation with indigenous organizations and interested donors to develop a more coordinated, sustainable and longer-term programme in the region which has as its principal objective the strengthening of indigenous organizations so as to ensure that they have the technical capacity to engage with Governments and the international community on human rights.
Furthermore, States should strengthen measures, systems and resources to effectively address all forms of violence against indigenous women, such as female genital mutilation; child marriage; sexual abuse; forced labour; modern slavery; domestic, institutional and political violence, including in the context of forced displacement; sexual exploitation; trafficking; armed conflict; and the militarization of indigenous lands and territories.
The Forum recommends that in staffing the secretariat of the Forum, due consideration be given to qualified indigenous youth applicants.
The common country assessment/United Nations Development Assistance Framework, poverty reduction strategy papers and other development processes, national or international, should ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples, including indigenous women
The Permanent Forum notes the initiative of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) to develop a new health plan for indigenous youth in Latin America and invites PAHO/WHO to report on progress achieved in implementing the plan to the Forum at its seventeenth session.
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 Forum invites the agencies and Governments submitting contributions also to indicate in future the challenges that they face in the implementation of the Forum's recommendations
Bearing in mind the principle of free, prior and informed consent as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Permanent Forum recommends that relevant UNICEF materials be translated into the languages of and made accessible to the indigenous peoples with whom the Fund is working so that they can participate fully in the planning and implementation of projects that directly or indirectly affect them.
The Forum recommends that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/Development Assistance Committee (DAC) invite the Forum to its fourth session to make a presentation on the work of the Forum and explore future collaboration.