As highlighted in article 31 of the Declaration, the Permanent Forum requests that both WIPO and States take effective measures and establish mechanisms to recognize the right of indigenous peoples to protect their intellectual property, including their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games, and visual and performing arts.
In accordance with the outcome document of the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the system-wide action plan, all funds, programmes and specialized agencies are urged to adopt policies to inform their work with indigenous peoples that include indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination and free, prior and informed consent. Progress achieved will be discussed at future sessions of the Permanent Forum.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the UNDP Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support initiative, with its focus on indigenous women and youth in Latin America, and appreciates the contributions provided by donors to ensure the success of the initiative. The Forum recommends that Member States, UN-Women and UNICEF provide financial support for this important initiative for indigenous women and youth.
In order to promote further knowledge of the Forum and the role of the United Nations among indigenous children and youth, the Forum decides to organize an indigenous youth art competition for the design of a logo for the Forum and to present the results to the Forum at its fourth session, in 2005, with the highest participation of indigenous children, including illiterate children.
Indigenous culture and tourism is often seen as a driver of growth and development for the economies and businesses of indigenous peoples, with indigenous peoples often trivialized and viewed solely as cultural icons and objects by others. The Permanent Forum therefore recommends that United Nations agencies, in collaboration with the indigenous peoples concerned, affirm and make operational the right of indigenous peoples to determine their own priorities for development and opportunities concerning indigenous culture and tourism.
The Permanent Forum recommends that all States apply the principles of general comment No. 11 (2009) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, entitled “Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention”.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the relevant United Nations agencies and Member States with reindeer herding peoples support training and education programmes for indigenous reindeer herding youth and communities in order to secure the future sustainability and resilience of the Arctic and sub-Arctic indigenous pastoral reindeer herding societies and cultures in the face of climate change, land-use change and globalization.
The Permanent Forum calls on United Nations entities to elevate the discussion on indigenous peoples to the highest possible governance level of their entities in order to ensure system-wide ownership and support for indigenous peoples’ rights. It encourages the focal points of United Nations entities to facilitate the commencement of dialogues between the Permanent Forum and the heads of the entities. The objective of such dialogues could include reviews of the entities’ internal policies and safeguards guaranteeing the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples, respect for their free, prior and informed consent and due diligence in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other relevant international standards by the end of 2022
The Permanent Forum recommends that UNICEF continue to gather data on the issue of children and migration and information on the effects of migration on children, recognizing in particular the situation of indigenous children, the risks of serious exploitation, such as trafficking in human beings for various purposes, and the restoration of rights to victims and vulnerable children, such as street children, through all country-level programmes.
The Forum is deeply concerned that particular problems and discrimination are faced by indigenous children and youth, including in the areas of education, health, culture, extreme poverty, mortality, incarceration, labour and other relevant areas. The Forum notes the need for new indicators to be developed by the United Nations that will specifically target those problems, and in that regard invites UNICEF to develop such new indicators and share them with other entities of the United Nations system, especially UNESCO.
The Forum welcomes the initiative of UNESCO to draft a convention on intangible heritage and requests the participation, consultation and dialogue with indigenous peoples and with the Forum.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States provide financial support to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples to facilitate the participation of indigenous youth in key United Nations meetings and processes most relevant to indigenous issues.