The Permanent Forum urges the Nordic States to ratify, as soon as possible, the Nordic Saami Convention, which could set an example for other indigenous peoples whose traditional territories are divided by international borders.
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.
The Permanent Forum regrets the very high incarceration rates of indigenous peoples globally, which contributes to poor health, poverty and untimely death, including in indigenous families and communities. States are reminded of their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and should therefore address this issue urgently by reducing the incarceration and eliminating the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of indigenous peoples by justice systems.
The Permanent Forum recommends that OHCHR continue to contribute to strengthening the working relations between the treaty bodies and the three United Nations mechanisms which have specific mandates to address indigenous peoples’ issues in order to enhance compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In this regard, OHCHR could facilitate the participation of the Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and the Chairperson of the Permanent Forum at the next annual meeting of the chairpersons of the treaty bodies.
The Permanent Forum considers climate change to be a driver of insecurity, exacerbating conflicts over lands, territories and resources. The Forum calls upon the Security Council to consider indigenous peoples as partners. Close consultation with indigenous peoples is required to ensure the respect of the rights of indigenous peoples in conflict and post-conflict situations.
The lack of recognition of Indigenous Peoples violates their right to self-determination. Their legal recognition should be aligned with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the report of the Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.1 The Permanent Forum invites African Governments to join groups of friends of Indigenous Peoples.
The Forum recommends that Governments:
(a) Respect the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, in particular women and children, and ensure that they are able to exercise these rights in accordance with international human rights standards;
(b) Include relevant information on the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women, in the reports presented to the Committee on the Elimination of All Discrimination against Women and other relevant human rights bodies;
(c) Create mechanisms to ensure access to legal processes, especially for indigenous women, to enable them to take advantage of available juridical instruments including free legal aid, in cases of violations of their fundamental rights;
(d) Encourage the appointment of qualified indigenous women to decision-making positions in the areas of administration and public service.
The Permanent Forum recommends that in the case of projects affecting indigenous peoples, States ensure that transnational corporations and other business enterprises comply with specific standards contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 169.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Working Group on Indigenous Populations include, at its twenty-fifth session in 2007, under its standard-setting mandate, the development of the principle of free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples.
The Forum requests the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples to undertake a study on the United Nations decolonization process and on the Special Committee on Decolonization to assess its historical and current impact on the human rights of indigenous peoples of the non-self-governing territories. Furthermore, the Forum requests the Secretary-General to undertake a mid-decade review of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism to determine whether substantial progress has been made in achieving the goals of the Second Decade and to identify proposals for addressing obstacles to achieving the goals of the Second Decade.
The Permanent Forum notes with concern the slow progress made in the negotiations on the final protocol on access and benefit-sharing. The Permanent Forum reiterates its requests to the parties to the Convention to take into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the negotiation, adoption and implementation of the access and benefit-sharing protocol.