States should take effective measures to eliminate violence against indigenous peoples by studying the root causes of conflict and human rights abuses, developing indicators and methodologies for risk assessment and early warning mechanisms and improving national legislation for the administration of justice with regard to the perpetrators of war crimes.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the importance of the signing of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace in Colombia. The Permanent Forum urges Colombia to promote and guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular by achieving the goals and indicators set out in the “ethnic chapter” of the peace agreement. The Permanent Forum urges the Special Jurisdiction for Peace of Colombia to prioritize the conduct of a high-profile investigation to highlight the violations of the collective rights of indigenous peoples that occurred during the armed conflict and to identify the patterns and perpetrators of this violence.
The Forum reiterates its recommendations made at its second session, in particular those contained in chapter I, section B, paragraphs 83 to 94 of the report.2
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.
The Permanent Forum recommends that all States that have introduced changes to existing indigenous land management regimes invite the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people to undertake a study of those regimes and assess them against the principles contained in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Forum welcomes the nomination of the High Commissioner, Justice Louise Arbor, and recommends that she convene a meeting with the Forum members.
Foster the training of indigenous women in order to gain leadership skills to become community advocates and defenders for indigenous women's rights to achieve gender equity
The Permanent Forum hails the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the General Assembly. The 13th of September 2007 is a historic day for the United Nations, indigenous peoples and States and marks the beginning of a new era of renewed partnerships for the promotion and protection of the human rights of all indigenous peoples and each indigenous person around the world. The Forum notes its new responsibility under the Declaration and pledges its commitment to making it a living document throughout its work. The Forum thus invites the international community as a whole, States, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academia and the media to promote the Declaration and apply it in their policies and programmes for the improvement of indigenous peoples’ well-being around the world
The Permanent Forum decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteurs on indigenous peoples and corporations, Carlos Mamani Condori, Elisa Canqui Mollo and Pavel Sulyandziga, for one year, and requests them to submit a written report to the Forum at its ninth session, in 2010.
The Permanent Forum reiterates the need for States to address the impact of militarization, including suppressing constitutional guarantees, appropriation of land, forcible occupation and displacement, on the land, territorial and other collective rights of indigenous peoples, perpetrated by security forces, including the military, militias and other armed groups.
The Permanent Forum continues to be deeply disturbed by the threats that the extractive industries, infrastructure megaprojects, such as roads and dams, legal and illegal logging, and the expansion of large-scale agriculture pose to the indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact. While recognizing the guidelines for the protection of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact in the Americas prepared by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the corresponding guidelines elaborated by OHCHR, the Permanent Forum recommends that OHCHR, in cooperation with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and with the participation of indigenous peoples’ organizations, evaluate the progress made, identify implementation gaps and make recommendations to advance the protection of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact and to guarantee their rights.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the intent of Nicaragua in drafting legislation on territorial regulation of Indigenous territories. The Permanent Forum urges Nicaragua to establish dialogue with the legitimate Indigenous authorities to initiate and conclude drafting of the legislation as soon as possible, in order to prevent repetition of the recent gross human rights violations against the Mayangna Sauni and Wilu communities, allegedly committed by armed settlers. It further urges Nicaragua to ensure that perpetrators are held to account through the justice system for the murders committed and for the destruction of property. Impunity is not an option.