Welcome to the United Nations
Displaying 1 - 12 of 525
Addressee: Member States
Paragraph Number: 62
Session: 21 (2022)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum expresses concern over the misappropriation and misuse of indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, and urges States and companies, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, to take effective measures to recognize and protect their rights, in accordance with article 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In this regard, the Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to take measures to safeguard indigenous peoples’ rights to intellectual property by adopting laws and public policies, in which it is recognized that indigenous peoples have the right over their creations, knowledge, discoveries, works, traditional cultural expressions and other elements.
Area of Work: Economic and Social Development, Intellectual property
Addressee: IFAD
Paragraph Number: 26
Session: 14 (2015)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum acknowledges IFAD for the implementation of its policy on indigenous peoples and for selecting “Indigenous peoples’ food systems and sustainable livelihoods” as the theme of the second global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD. The Forum expects that IFAD will continue to strengthen its engagement with indigenous peoples in its future work by ensuring engagement at the country level through targeted programmes, capacity-building for indigenous peoples and project staff and the development of specific indicators on the well-being of indigenous peoples.
Area of Work: Education, Environment
Addressee: IUCN, CBD
Paragraph Number: 25
Session: 17 (2018)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum urges the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to undertake, in collaboration with indigenous peoples, a study on the contributions of indigenous peoples to the management of ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity, and submit a report to the Forum by its nineteenth session.
Area of Work: Environment, Conservation
Addressee: PFII Members, SPFII
Paragraph Number: 36
Session: 2 (2003)
Full Text:
The Forum renews the recommendation made at its first session on the need to create a three-year working group on free, prior informed consent and participatory research guidelines, under the aegis of the Forum, with funding from the regular budget that includes a focus on how the guidelines relate to the protection of indigenous knowledge and natural resources.
Area of Work: Economic and Social Development
Addressee: UNPFII, REDD
Paragraph Number: 29
Session: 10 (2011)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum decides to appoint Kanyinke Sena, Mirna Cunningham and Bertie Xavier, members of the Permanent Forum, to conduct a study on indigenous peoples’ rights and safeguards in projects related to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and to report back to the Permanent Forum at its twelfth session, in 2013.
Area of Work: Environment
Addressee: CBD
Paragraph Number: 27
Session: 10 (2011)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum reiterates to the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and especially to the parties to the Nagoya Protocol, the importance of respecting and protecting indigenous peoples’ rights to genetic resources consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Consistent with the objective of “fair and equitable” benefit sharing in the Convention and Protocol, all rights based on customary use must be safeguarded and not only “established” rights. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has concluded that such kinds of distinctions would be discriminatory.
Area of Work: Environment, Traditional Knowledge
Addressee: World Bank
Paragraph Number: 34
Session: 2 (2003)
Full Text:
The Forum welcomes the new initiative of the Bank entitled "Grants facility for indigenous peoples", and urges the Bank to organize consultations with indigenous peoples’ organizations to further the process.
Area of Work: Economic and Social Development
Paragraph Number: 37
Session: 3 (2004)
Full Text:
Recognizing the important partnership of WIPO and the Forum, the Forum makes the following recommendations to further this working relationship:
(a) The Forum strongly encourages representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities to participate actively in the work of WIPO in relation to genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions/ folklore, in particular through the submission of comments, case studies and position papers, including on the new WIPO web page established for this purpose;
(b) The Forum calls upon WIPO and member States, funds, foundations and other donors to provide funding to facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples, local communities and the Forum in sessions of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore and in related consultations, caucuses, briefings and workshops;
(c) The Forum recommends that, under the auspices of the Forum and in partnership with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, WIPO develop, in close consultation with indigenous peoples and local communities, the Forum and other organizations and stakeholders, as appropriate, guidelines, ethical codes of conduct, best practices and practical guides relating to intellectual property issues and the access to and use of traditional cultural expressions and knowledge by, among others, commercial users, ethnologists, folklorists and anthropologists, and museums and archives;
(d) The Forum confirms its readiness and willingness to provide expert input to the work of WIPO on intellectual property, traditional knowledge and folklore, such as its work on studying how customary and indigenous laws and protocols could be recognized and applied within national, regional and international systems for the protection of traditional knowledge and cultural expressions.
Area of Work: Culture
Addressee: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples
Paragraph Number: 26
Session: 20 (2021)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum recalls its invitation to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to initiate a general comment on the collective rights of indigenous peoples to lands, territories and natural resources. The Forum welcomes the decision of the Committee to draft a general comment on land and economic, social and cultural rights. However, the Forum expresses its concern about the limited participation of indigenous peoples in the drafting of the general comment and invites the Committee to consider facilitating the participation of indigenous peoples. The Forum also invites the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples to provide support in this regard.
Area of Work: Human rights, Economic and Social Development
Addressee: Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Paragraph Number: 41
Session: 8 (2009)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum calls upon the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to publish a comprehensive report on the state of indigenous peoples, similar to the Human Development Report, to mark the Decade.
Area of Work: Economic and Social Development
Addressee: Member States,
Paragraph Number: 25
Session: 7 (2008)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum recommends that States develop mechanisms through which they can monitor and report on the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples, mindful of their socio-economic limitations as well as spiritual and cultural attachment to lands and waters.
Area of Work: Environment
Addressee: Member States
Paragraph Number: 45
Session: 13 (2014)
Full Text:
The Permanent Forum urges States to implement articles 11 and 13 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular in relation to the practice and revitalization of indigenous peoples’ languages, cultural traditions and customs as a way of building resilience and preventing self-harm, violence and suicide.
Area of Work: Culture, Education, Health
