The Permanent Forum welcomes the establishment of the steering committee on indigenous peoples of Africa that consists of the working group on indigenous populations/communities and minorities in Africa as well as interested members of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues. The Forum invites the steering committee to work with the members of the Forum to support the implementation of the system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the African continent. The Forum also encourages United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to establish a similar inter-agency group in Asia.
The Permanent Forum encourages Member States to review recommendations made at past sessions, renew efforts at their implementation and report on progress made by 2021. It invites the United Nations system to support the States’ efforts in this regard.
The Forum notes with satisfaction the recent activation of the Trust Fund for the support of the Forum, expresses its deep appreciation and thanks to all those who contributed to it and calls upon Governments, foundations and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to give generously to the Fund.
The Permanent Forum welcomes national engagement of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with Brazil, Finland, Mexico, New Zealand and Sweden on projects related to, among others, the development of national action plans for the implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights, processes related to land demarcation and land titling, and facilitating the repatriation of sacred ceremonial objects. The Forum highlights the agreement facilitated by the Expert Mechanism among the Museum of World Culture in Sweden, the Yaqui people in Mexico and the United States of America on the repatriation of the Maaso Kova as a commendable best practice. The Forum encourages States and indigenous peoples to build on the successful country engagement practices and avail themselves of the Expert Mechanism’s unique analytical capacity and potential to support dialogue between indigenous peoples and Governments.
With a view to strengthening collaboration during the intersessional period, and further developing expert recommendations to member organizations of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues, the Forum decides to increase visits by its members to these entities to carry out an in-depth analysis of the programs, activities and operations at the international, regional and national levels
With the COVID-19 pandemic preventing in-person meetings, the Permanent Forum held virtual regional dialogues with indigenous peoples from all seven sociocultural regions of the world in preparation for its twentieth session. The dialogues highlighted cross-cutting issues affecting indigenous peoples across the globe, including the adverse effects of the pandemic, discrimination, the need for disaggregated data, and indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources. A full summary of the regional dialogues is available at the Permanent Forum website.[1] The Forum is committed to continuing to organize virtual regional dialogues in the context of building back better and the recovery from the pandemic. The Permanent Forum invites the secretariat of the Forum to continue to support these dialogues.
The Forum recommends that in order to raise further awareness of indigenous peoples and the Millennium Development Goals, the Economic and Social Council High-level Segment to be held from 29 June to 1 July 2005, and the General Assembly Summit to be held in September 2005 allow presentations of recommendations of the Forum at its fourth session on the Millennium Development Goals by the Chairperson of the Forum
The Permanent Forum reiterates the recommendation contained in paragraph 40 of its report on its seventeenth session, in which it recommended that the Commission on the Status of Women organize a high-level interactive dialogue on the rights of indigenous women, to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, in 2020, to review progress made towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on links to the Declaration. The Forum invites States, in cooperation with indigenous peoples’ organizations and with the support of the United Nations system, to conduct preparatory processes, with the full and effective participation of indigenous women of all ages.
The Forum, recognizing the contributions of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in reducing rural poverty and its experience of good practices, recommends that IFAD consider operational guidelines on indigenous peoples and a framework tool for advocacy for promoting indigenous rights and development and achieving internaitonal development goals which emerged from international conferences, summits and conventions which are relevant for indigenous peoples
The Permanent Forum also appreciates the work of FAO, in collaboration with the Forum, on including the issues of indigenous peoples in the Committee on World Food Security and recommends that FAO continue to collaborate with the Forum to open up spaces for dialogue and participation in other technical committees, such as those on forestry, fisheries and agriculture.
The Forum decides to hold a meeting of four of its members with the Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) at its annual session of IASG, in 2004.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations and United Nations system organizations ensure the effective participation of indigenous peoples at the Food Systems Summit in 2021, as well as at all the related processes conducted in advance thereof and thereafter, including the pre-summit to be held in Italy from 19 to 21 July 2021. The food systems of indigenous peoples support sustainability and care for the environment and generate healthy foods important for the eradication of hunger and the achievement of the Goals.
