The Permanent Forum decides to authorize a three-day international expert group workshop on indigenous peoples’ rights, corporate accountability and the extractive industries, and requests that the results of the meeting be reported to the Forum at its eighth session, in 2009. The report of that workshop can feed into the eighteenth and nineteenth sessions of the Commission on Sustainable Development, which will address the themes of mining, chemicals, waste management and sustainable consumption and production patterns, and contribute to the review by the eighteenth session of the Commission.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to publish a comprehensive report on the state of indigenous peoples, similar to the Human Development Report, to mark the Decade.
The Forum recommends that the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in collaboration with multilateral and regional agencies and indigenous organizations, lead the mainstreaming of indigenous issues and concerns in poverty reduction strategies at the country level. In view of the decreasing support to pastoral and semi-nomadic groups in Africa, the Forum recommends that IFAD initiate programmes in support of these groups and submit its planned work programme to the Forum at its fourth session.
The Forum recommends inviting the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and other regional commissions to present a report of their activities concerning the situation of indigenous peoples and poverty in Latin America.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the United Nations entities that constitute UN-Water to ensure the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in the realization of the outcomes of the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in order to ensure their engagement in water policy, governance and rights, including with respect to capacity-building, access to clean water, sanitation and water for nature. The Permanent Forum invites UNESCO to report on progress on implementation at the twenty-third session of the Permanent Forum and calls upon UN-Water, UNESCO and other concerned United Nations entities to build coherence among the four United Nations decades on water, oceans, ecosystem restoration and Indigenous Peoples’ languages.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the sixth call for proposals of the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility of IFAD, which is focused on advancing indigenous peoples’ biodiversity conservation and sustainable management for adaptation and resilience to climate change. The Permanent Forum urges IFAD to facilitate direct access to climate financing to indigenous peoples’ communities and organizations through the Facility and the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme, and encourages Governments and donors to support those initiatives.
The Permanent Forum calls upon States to recognize indigenous peoples, where they exist, consistent with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration, in their legislation in order to gather statistical data thereon, especially in the area of allocation of land and other natural resources for traditional use.
On the basis of the constructive dialogue between the Permanent Forum and the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, the Forum recommends that the members of the Support Group demonstrate strong commitment from the highest level, including by: (a) Institutionalizing dialogue between the expert members of the Forum and the principals of the funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system; (b) Allocating sufficient resources to implement the system-wide action plan for ensuring a coherent approach to achieving the ends of the United Nations Declaration; (c) Establishing institutional consultation mechanisms to ensure active collaboration and partnership with indigenous peoples at the national, regional and global levels, in both developing and developed countries; (d) Incorporating specific targets and indicators with disaggregated data to address the key issues and priorities of indigenous peoples at the national level; (e) Ensuring active cooperation between the Support Group and Forum members holding relevant agency portfolios.
The Permanent Forum urges the Human Rights Council expert mechanism on indigenous peoples to evaluate whether existing and proposed climate change policies and projects adhere to the standards set by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These bodies, together with the members of the Inter-Agency Support Group for Indigenous Issues, should collaborate with States, multilateral bodies, donors and indigenous peoples to effectively ensure that the implementation of the Declaration is central to the design and implementation of climate change policies and programmes.