The Permanent Forum clarifies its call on United Nations entities, in its report on the twenty-first session (E/2022/43-E/C.19/2022/11), to elevate the discussion on Indigenous Peoples to the highest possible governance level of their entities to ensure system-wide ownership and support for Indigenous Peoples’ rights. It encourages Member States to ensure that United Nations entity leaders appoint Indigenous Peoples focal points who report directly to their senior staff member on Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations entities employ Indigenous Peoples for these positions.
The Permanent Forum also welcomes the recent adoption of the United Nations Development Group guidelines for indigenous peoples’ issues, which will bring the United Nations normative framework on indigenous peoples to the field level and contribute to the implementation of the goals and objectives of the Decade and of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Forum encourages the United Nations system to support the Guidelines with a programme of action and calls upon the donor community to provide resources to that effect. The Forum also calls upon the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues to review and revise the Guidelines in light of the adoption of the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum greatly welcomes the new global indigenous peoples’ partnership initiative that UNDP is developing with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and OHCHR to promote the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 169. The Permanent Forum hopes to support that initiative, working in cooperation with other actors, by providing advice during the initial phase as well as throughout the process.
States, the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations should ensure the participation of indigenous peoples in designing and formulation of poverty reduction strategies, programs and activities. Rights to indigenous land, forests, marine and other natural resources should be clearly identified in poverty reduction strategy papers, documents, the role of indigenous peoples should be specified and the control by indigenous peoples over traditional land, forests, marine and other natural resources and decisions on the type of development should be acknowledged
The Permanent Forum welcomes the decision 2009/250 of the Economic and Social Council on a proposed amendment to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, related to the traditional use of the coca leaf. The Forum recommends that Member States support this initiative, taking into account articles 11, 24 and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
With a view to assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of policies on indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum recommends to the United Nations entities that carry out free, prior and informed consent processes to develop a system for comprehensively documenting these processes.
The Forum urges Governments, in addressing economic and social development issues, to make efforts to adopt general strategies that include considerations for the needs and rights of indigenous peoples in the policies, laws and administrative issues that affect them, and they should include participation and consultations with indigenous peoples. Governments should also consider implementing special policies directed to employment creation for indigenous peoples, facilitating access to credit and the creation of small and medium-sized businesses.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the invitation extended by the Maskwacis Cree and the Confederacy of Treaty Six Chiefs to the members and the secretariat to attend the United Nations Expert Seminar on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous peoples at the Samson Cree Nation from 25 to 27 September 2006. This is a historic first United Nations expert meeting to be held on indigenous treaty territory.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States, the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations system ensure that the processes relating to the definition of the development agenda beyond 2015 are formulated in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development, as defined in the Indigenous Peoples’ International Declaration on Sustainable Development and Self-Determination, adopted by the Indigenous Peoples’ International Conference on Sustainable Development and Self-Determination, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012, and also recommends that culture be affirmed as the fourth pillar of sustainable development.
The Permanent Forum therefore requests the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel to support Member States in the Sahel and the Congo basin in this work, in collaboration with indigenous peoples. In general, indigenous peoples should be invited to contribute to the implementation of the mandate of the Office. Other initiatives of importance to indigenous peoples are the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel and the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative. The Permanent Forum invites the Office to attend its twenty-second session, to be held in 2023, to share information on progress in its work.
The Permanent Forum recommends that international financial institutions unequivocally acknowledge the collective right of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources in their safeguard policies and in all development project contexts (not merely in exceptional circumstances). Banks should not support any projects that affect indigenous peoples without prior recognition of and effective guarantees for their collective rights to own, control and manage their lands, territories and resources.
Noting the challenge of securing the constructive participation of indigenous peoples’ organizations in its sessions and ongoing work and of developing an active partnership between civil society, Governments and the United Nations system, the Forum recommends that a workshop be convened to develop innovative working methods for future sessions of the Forum, including methods of disseminating information before the sessions.