The Permanent Forum encourages States to continue cooperating with indigenous peoples to develop fair, transparent and effective mechanisms for the repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains, at the national and international levels.
The Forum recommends that FAO and the Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development Initiative work further on the development of cultural indicators for identifying priorities and criteria and methodologies for the right to food and food security, with the participation of indigenous peoples, taking into account the protection and restoration of indigenous peoples' traditional food systems and their agrobiodiversity and associated traditional knowledge and livelihoods. The threats to sustaining such systems, such as monoculture cash crop production, mineral extraction, environmental contamination and genetically modified seeds and technology, should be addressed.
The Forum recommends that Governments hold sports and athletic games involving indigenous sports.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States support the creation of indigenous language and cultural studies centres in universities and encourage universities to provide permanent teaching positions for indigenous peoples in those study centres; urges States to adopt a policy of free university tuition for all indigenous peoples; encourages those universities that have not already done so to establish designated places and scholarships for indigenous students; and encourages UNESCO to support those initiatives where applicable.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States formulate evidence- based policies, long-term strategies and regulatory frameworks, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, to ensure their support and the protection and revitalization of indigenous languages, including adequate, sustained support for bilingual, mother- tongue education. The Forum also recommends that States facilitate the mainstreaming of indigenous languages. Allowing indigenous peoples to gain access to health care and other public services in their own languages will help to ensure their overall well-being.
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 Forum recommends that the United Nations and Member States recognize the cultural rights of indigenous peoples which include the rights to organize oneself freely and to administer one’s own cultural, sports, social and religious institutions. For this purpose, the Forum encourages the United Nations and the relevant specialized agencies to consider establishing an international centre for multicultural and multiracial studies.
The Permanent Forum recommends that UNESCO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) work closely with indigenous peoples to develop an instrument to protect traditional knowledge and culture-based economic opportunities and activities as a potential way of strengthening the identities of indigenous peoples in order to contribute to gross domestic product growth, environmental protection and mutual appreciation of cultures.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the decision 2009/250 of the Economic and Social Council on a proposed amendment to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, related to the traditional use of the coca leaf. The Forum recommends that Member States support this initiative, taking into account articles 11, 24 and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to support cross-border cultural communications and initiatives between indigenous peoples of the region to foster their common languages, heritage and traditional knowledge.
It is also vital that Governments recognize indigenous peoples’ institutions, especially their representative institutions. These institutions help promote and protect the cultures, livelihoods, identities and languages of indigenous peoples and other essential elements of their lives. These institutions should be supported and strengthened as essential elements of diverse and multicultural States. The Permanent Forum notes that many Governments already recognize indigenous peoples’ representative institutions at the municipal and national levels. However, they are not yet recognized at the international level.
Given increased violence against indigenous peoples in the Amazon region, the Permanent Forum urges the Member States of the region to take urgent, extraordinary and coordinated measures to protect the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, with the aim of maintaining their ownership and use of their territories. The Forum also calls upon the United Nations system and specialized agencies, including OHCHR, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and ILO, to support Member States in the protection of indigenous peoples’ habitats and cultures in the Amazon region in cooperation with indigenous peoples.