The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiative taken by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the secretariat of the Permanent Forum to convene a first expert meeting on the nexus between indigenous peoples and migration and endorses the recommendations of that meeting and requests further inter-agency cooperation and collaboration regarding data collection and case studies on indigenous peoples and migration, in particular the creation of a task force to specifically address migration issues of indigenous peoples within the existing Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues for the Permanent Forum. Such a task force could assist with studies by indigenous leaders and experts and promote capacity-building projects dealing with the migration of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum supports the recommendations of the international expert group meeting on extractive industries, indigenous peoples’ rights and corporate social responsibility addressed to extractive industry corporations, States, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, indigenous peoples, nations and organizations, and international financial institutions, contained in a paper presented to the Forum.
The Permanent Forum notes the increasing incidence of tuberculosis among indigenous peoples, rates which are up to 20 to 30 times higher than those of non indigenous communities. The Forum supports the proposal by the Assembly of First Nations in Canada and the Stop TB Partnership to hold an expert group meeting on the global situation of indigenous peoples with tuberculosis, which should include indigenous health experts, and encourages the organizers to invite members of the Forum.
The Permanent Forum learned of the threat posed to the health of indigenous peoples by four non-communicable diseases — diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic lung disease — and their common risk factors. The Permanent Forum welcomes the organization of a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and requests that representatives of indigenous peoples be invited to contribute to and participate in the meeting, as well as the interactive hearings with civil society scheduled for June 2011.
The Permanent Forum recommends, in paragraph 64 of the report, that the relevant United Nations entities should “conduct a study, in partnership with indigenous peoples’ organizations, that documents the linkage between environmental violence, including the operations of extractive industries, chemical pollution and the destruction of the indigenous habitat, and the sexual and reproductive health of indigenous peoples, as well as issues pertaining to sexual exploitation, trafficking of indigenous girls and sexual violence, with concrete recommendations on protection measures”.