The Permanent Forum recommends that States implement the principles contained in General Comment No. 21 (2009) of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on article 15, paragraph 1 (a), of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding the right of everyone to take part in cultural life. In its interpretation of the article, the Committee takes into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It consequently distinguishes the right of indigenous peoples to take part in their own culture from the same right as it applies to minorities. This distinction is made in particular as a result of the extension of the concept of indigenous culture to material aspects such as territories and resources.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the capacity-building efforts being carried out by the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity with the Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network for the Latin American and Caribbean Region, thanks to the patronage of the Government of Spain, and encourages other donor Governments to consider sponsoring similar efforts in other regions, in particular in Africa and in the Pacific region.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States, relevant United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental organizations and bilateral donors support strategies for intercultural prevention and eradication of violence against women that are designed and driven by indigenous women’s organizations and that consider indigenous approaches to address gender-based violence.
The Permanent Forum recommends that UNDP include indigenous peoples in its programme of democratic governance in order to support and strengthen indigenous institutions and enable indigenous peoples to enjoy their right to political participation and fortify their capacities for political conflict prevention and resolution.
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.
The Permanent Forum notes the general capacity-building efforts on access and benefit-sharing in the African region carried out under Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) of Germany and encourages further efforts to bolster indigenous participation in those workshops and also in developing workshops specifically for indigenous peoples and local communities.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has analysed and discussed indigenous fishing rights in the seas on the basis of a report submitted by the Special Rapporteurs. As a result of those discussions, the Forum considers the protection of the material basis of the culture of indigenous peoples to be a part of international law that should be applied also to fishing rights in the seas, and recommends that States in which indigenous peoples live in coastal areas recognize indigenous peoples’ right to fish in the seas on the basis of historical use and international law. In that context, the Forum notes the ongoing consultations between the Government of Norway and the Sami Parliament and recommends that the Government recognize the right of the coastal Sami to fish in the seas on the basis of historical use and international law.
The Permanent Forum congratulates the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the approval of its policy on engagement with indigenous peoples, consistent with international standards, in particular with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Development Group guidelines. In the implementation of the policy, the Forum encourages the Trust Fund to establish an indigenous peoples’ forum at IFAD, as an example of a good practice to be followed by other United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental organizations.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Governments and States promote the creation of conditions for indigenous peoples that will enable them to maintain the forests in their traditional way and conserve their cultural identity, with priority accorded to indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, strengthening their capacities and highlighting the value of ancestral knowledge related to native forests. The Forum further recommends that the traditional knowledge and traditional forest management practices and governance systems of indigenous peoples for the protection and use of their forests be recognized in all forest policies and climate-related forest initiatives.
The Permanent Forum urges the Governments of Canada and the United States to eliminate all assimilation policies that further exacerbate the economic and other disparities between indigenous peoples and the rest of the population.
The Permanent Forum encourages the Government of Paraguay to continue to accept assistance from United Nations agencies and programmes and national cooperation agencies in order to develop policies aimed at the elimination of forced labour and other forms of servitude, especially in matters relating to the most urgent challenges: food, health, housing and education.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiative of the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to host the International Conference on Biological and Cultural Diversity: Diversity for Development (8-10 June 2010, Montreal, Canada) to develop a joint programme of work on biological and cultural diversity, and requests that future work include broad partnerships with the Permanent Forum, other relevant agencies, indigenous peoples’ organizations and non-governmental organizations