The Forum congratulates the United Nations Development Program for convening a productive session of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues in September 2004, welcomes the expanding membership of the Inter-Agency Support Group and encourages other intergovernmental entities to join the Group, and encourages the Group to continue the practice of the participation of members of the Permanent Forum
The Permanent Forum is very concerned that indigenous peoples continue to report difficulties in participating in UNDP projects and engaging with UNDP offices. The Forum recommends that UNDP improve access to information on the Programme for indigenous peoples and ensure easier access to its staff members in country offices. UNDP should promote mechanisms that ensure a constructive and institutionalized dialogue between indigenous peoples and United Nations country teams at the country level, for example, by establishing advisory boards composed of indigenous representatives who can bring their perspectives to United Nations programming processes and policies.