With reference to article 42 of the United Nations Declaration, the Permanent Forum invites African States, in particular Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Nigeria and Rwanda, to present, at its sixteenth session, information on the situation of indigenous peoples affected by conflict in those countries.
Recalling the recommendation contained in the report of its fifteenth session (E/2016/43-E/C.19/2016/11, para. 52), the Permanent Forum urges States to take measures for settlement, protection and security in post-conflict areas and for the construction of durable and lasting peace, promoting the full and effective inclusion of indigenous peoples, including indigenous women, in any initiative for peace and reconciliation. The Forum also recommends that the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and indigenous peoples, including women and young people, consider indigenous peoples’ traditional conflict resolution systems for achieving durable and lasting peace.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to recognize the collective rights of indigenous peoples, and calls on ASEAN to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples are integrated into the development process of the ASEAN charter.
The Permanent Forum urges the Government of Kenya to implement the recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the rights of Endorois to the ownership of their ancestral lands, to the restitution thereof and to compensation in that connection.
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 the Plurinational State of Bolivia should speed up implementation of the constitutional provisions regarding the freeing of individuals, families and communities in the light of the fact that forced labour and servitude are serious human rights violations that must be addressed with great urgency.