The Forum welcomes the participation and perspective of indigenous women and girls with disabilities, recognizes the distinct vulnerability and marginalization that such indigenous individuals encounter as members of an indigenous group, and encourages United Nations agencies, and Governments and organizations, to include their views.
The Permanent Forum recalls its previous recommendations on the progress of the implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord and calls upon the Government of Bangladesh to take appropriate steps in this regard on an urgent basis. In particular, the Forum urges the Government to frame rules for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Disputes Resolution Commission and to generate ethnically disaggregated data, including for the national census of 2021.
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 welcomes the study of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the right to education and the Expert Mechanism’s Advice No. 1. The Permanent Forum encourages States, indigenous peoples and others to disseminate these texts and incorporate them in national policies and practices.
Considering the rapid rate of disappearance of indigenous languages and the fact that their reclamation and revitalization will require a sustained effort by indigenous peoples, Member States and the United Nations system, the Forum recommends that the General Assembly proclaim an “International Decade on Indigenous Languages”, to begin in 2021 or as soon as possible.
Consistent with articles 7 and 30 of the United Nations Declaration, States should take measures for settlement, protection and security in the post-conflict period, 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.
UNESCO and UNICEF should continue to promote bilingual and cross-cultural education programs for indigenous peoples and schools for girls and women's literacy progrmas in Latin America, and should encourage and expand these experiences in other regions.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States take effective measures to halt land alienation in indigenous territories, for example, through a moratorium on the sale and registration of land, including the granting of land and other concessions in areas occupied by indigenous peoples, and also to assist indigenous communities, where appropriate, to register as legal entities.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States take steps to establish truth commissions in situations of reported gross violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples. The Forum underlines that the full and effective participation of affected indigenous peoples is a precondition for the establishment and work of truth commissions.
The Permanent Forum recommends that an expert seminar be held, without financial implications, and invites the participation of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Special Committee on Decolonization, to examine the impact of the United Nations decolonization process on indigenous peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories that are on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Forum requests that independent experts and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples be invited to participate in the seminar. Furthermore, the Forum requests that indigenous peoples under Non-Self-Governing Territories status also be invited.
Recalling the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur appointed to undertake a study on the status of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 (E/C.19/2011/6, sect. VIII), and given that the situation of the indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts remains a matter of concern, the Forum encourages the Government of Bangladesh to allocate sufficient human and financial resources and set a time frame for the full implementation of the Accord.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues recommends that Member States implement precautionary measures and recommendations provided by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the Permanent Forum, to prevent irreparable harm to indigenous peoples, their authorities and indigenous organizations.