The Permanent Forum urges States to recognize and protect indigenous peoples’ cultural right to water and, through legislation and policy, to support the right of indigenous peoples to hunt and gather food resources from waters used for cultural, economic and commercial purposes. This is consistent with article 25 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum calls upon States that have not already done so to engage in constructive partnerships with indigenous peoples to achieve the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to adopt specific action plans, strategies or other measures that will deliver required financial and technical assistance to indigenous peoples in order for them to achieve and exercise self-determination.
The Permanent Forum urges States to address the stark inequality between indigenous and non-indigenous people in all aspects of life, which has been heightened as a result of COVID-19, by implementing in full the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in all their legal norms and public policies related to indigenous peoples.
The Forum takes note with appreciation of the focus and work of UN-Habitat, particularly regarding the ongoing study jointly initiated with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on indigenous peoples and the right to adequate housing, and recommends that UN-Habitat submit a report on the conclusions and recommendations of this study to the Forum at its fourth session, and that it participate in the dialogue.
The Permanent Forum encourages the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to continue its efforts in operationalizing the principle of free, prior and informed consent in its investments, including through the engagement of indigenous experts in project delivery teams.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should serve as a key and binding framework in the formulation of plans for development and should be considered fundamental in all processes related to climate change at the local, national, regional and global levels. The safeguard policies of the multilateral banks and the existing and future policies on indigenous peoples of United Nations bodies and other multilateral bodies should be implemented in all climate change-related projects and programmes.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Statistical Commission and the United Nations Statistics Division use the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts in the development of a coherent and integrated set of indicators for monitoring the situation and well-being of indigenous peoples and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiative of UNESCO, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) to review current procedures and capacity to ensure free, prior and informed consent, and the protection of indigenous peoples’ livelihoods, tangible and intangible heritage. During this review process, it would be advisable to review the inconsistency of approaches to natural world heritage and cultural world heritage. The Permanent Forum makes itself available to assist in the review and revision of UNESCO operational guidelines with regard to nominations and site assessments. The Permanent Forum further recommends that UNESCO invite indigenous peoples’ representatives and experts to contribute to deliberations on and recommended changes to procedures and operational guidelines.
The Permanent Forum encourages national and international financial institutions to target indigenous peoples as beneficiaries of their micro-financing mechanisms and other relevant mechanisms, with the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples.
The traditional food systems of indigenous peoples depend on a healthy environment and access to traditional resources and play an important role in maintaining the communities’ cultures and identities and their health and well-being. The Permanent Forum encourages indigenous peoples, States, United Nations entities and civil society organizations to raise awareness and promote the food cultures of indigenous peoples through support for indigenous peoples’ food systems and unconditional access to traditional resources.
The Permanent Forum invites the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to prepare a study on the situation of indigenous women migrants.
The Forum recommends that UNIFEM, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization and UNDP support the first-world fair of indigenous women art makers, to be held in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, in April 2006, promoted by indigenous peoples from the north of Mexico.