The Permanent Forum commends the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people for his efforts on behalf of indigenous peoples around the world and recommends that he continue his work in conformity with the principles he has established.
Recalling its workshop on data collection and disaggregation concerning indigenous peoples (see E/C.19/2004/2), the Forum takes note with satisfaction of the recommendations and intends to: a) Request the World Bank to undertake a study on poverty and indigenous peoples in connection with disaggregation of data, and to present the results to the Forum at its fifth session; b) Devote in-sessional time to in-depth discussions and exchange of good practices concerning the disaggregation of data.
The Forum urges States and the United Nations agencies to support the attendance and participation of indigenous youth at future sessions of the Permanent Forum
The Permanent Forum welcomes the dialogues to support indigenous peoples’ preparations for the United Nations Food Systems Summit. The Forum requests Member States and the secretariat of the Summit to guarantee the participation of indigenous peoples at the Summit with a view to ensuring due reflection of indigenous peoples’ rights and issues in the relevant outcome documents.
The Permanent Forum recommends that a capacity-development component be included in UNDP projects that affect indigenous peoples. The Forum also recommends that the experience and knowledge of the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environmental Facility be utilized by other small-grant schemes and that a stronger link be developed between efforts to enhance the capacity of indigenous peoples’ organizations and UNDP efforts to enhance the participation of indigenous peoples in national policy processes
Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by Member States in 2015, the Permanent Forum has repeatedly highlighted the importance of ensuring the meaningful and full participation of indigenous peoples in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Unfortunately, the world is not on track to meet globally agreed targets. This has been particularly evident during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which existing inequities have been exacerbated, placing the survival of indigenous peoples at greater risk. During the pandemic, indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women and girls, have not only been left behind, but have been left even further behind.
The Permanent Forum recommends that relevant States, in cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, establish indigenous peoples’ centres in urban areas to address their medical needs and provide legal and other forms of assistance.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the efforts of UNDP to endorse the political participation of indigenous peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean and its support in the preparation of the report on democracy and indigenous peoples in the region. The Forum recommends to UNDP that it extend this good practice to other regions and follow up regularly.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the entry into force on 14 April 2014 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure. In this regard, it recommends that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, other United Nations agencies and States support the dissemination of the guide to this Optional Protocol, including its translation into different languages and the building of capacity among indigenous organizations and institutions to make effective use of the Optional Protocol in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous children and youth.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the positive contributions of the members of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues and urges them to continue implementing development projects and programmes in participation with indigenous peoples, where applicable. The Forum also requests that more case studies of good practices and lessons learned be presented at the sessions of the Forum, including information about less successful cases
The Permanent Forum recommends that States: ensure that the collection of statistical data be disaggregated by sex and ethnicity; discourage monitoring that is focused only on national averages; ensure indigenous peoples’ and indigenous women’s effective participation in all stages of the preparation, coordination and implementation of data collection; develop a proper system of indicators in partnership with indigenous peoples and women; and enable a measurement of progress in the different areas.
The Permanent Forum takes notes of the recent publication of the adolescent-friendly version of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by UNICEF, the Forum and the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus. The Forum recommends that UNICEF, Member States and indigenous peoples translate this publication into all languages, in particular indigenous languages. The Forum also recommends that Member States, indigenous peoples and others use this publication in the curricula of studies of indigenous and non-indigenous youth.