A recommendation that UN country teams involve members of the Forum in dialogue processes with indigenous peoples.
UNICEF is invited to report to the Forum at its fifth session on the result of the "25 by 2005" initiative on maximizing indigenous girls' education programs
The Permanent Forum recommends that Governments and States promote the creation of conditions for indigenous peoples that will enable them to maintain the forests in their traditional way and conserve their cultural identity, with priority accorded to indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, strengthening their capacities and highlighting the value of ancestral knowledge related to native forests. The Forum further recommends that the traditional knowledge and traditional forest management practices and governance systems of indigenous peoples for the protection and use of their forests be recognized in all forest policies and climate-related forest initiatives.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the determination of IFAD — for which it congratulates the Fund — to identify indigenous peoples as a specific target group within the agency’s strategic framework, which, in a significant way, has consolidated and legitimized indigenous peoples’ issues in its work with its partners, other organizations and States. The Permanent Forum finds that identifying indigenous peoples as a specific target group is a standard-setting approach, to be duplicated by the United Nations and other international agencies. It is recommended that IFAD maintain its strong focus on indigenous peoples’ issues in the formulation of the new institutional strategic framework, which is due to commence soon.
Consistent with articles 18 and 19 of the United Nations Declaration and in line with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the call to “leave no one behind”, the Permanent Forum strongly recommend that States and funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system ensure the disaggregation of data on the basis of indigenous identifiers/ethnicity and the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in developing and monitoring national action plans and in all processes relating to the follow-up to and review of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, including at the high-level political forum on sustainable development.
The continuing denial of indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources, based upon various racist doctrines, theories and policies, including on lands occupied or otherwise used, historically and currently, by them, has led, among others, to their eviction from their lands and the erosion of their hunting and other traditional occupations and lifestyles, thereby threatening their very survival and well-being as peoples. It is necessary to ensure that bans, such as on hunting and other traditional livelihoods, do not infringe upon the rights of indigenous peoples.
Furthermore, the Forum expresses its conviction that Governments should adopt special measures to achieve equitable educational outcomes for indigenous children, especially indigenous girls, and that special emphasis is required for headstart and early childhood programs for indigenous children
Building upon the study prepared by members of the Permanent Forum on the situation of indigenous persons with disabilities, with a particular focus on challenges faced with respect to the full enjoyment of human rights and inclusion in development (see E/C.19/2013/6), and in the light of the call in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “leave no one behind”, the Forum is concerned that the experiences and rights of indigenous persons with disabilities require further study and examination. In that regard, the Forum calls upon the secretariat of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as the focal point within the United Nations system on matters relating to disability, to conduct a qualitative study with regard to indigenous persons with disabilities, in all seven regions of the world.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the project of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), entitled “Linking indigenous peoples with regional development”, which involves indigenous leaders and communities in Australia, Canada and Sweden, and encourages OECD and its member States to expand the project.
The year 2022 is the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture. The Permanent Forum therefore recommends that FAO prepare a study on the impacts of industrial fishing on the rights of indigenous peoples in regard to traditional fishing. The Permanent Forum invites the Organization to share the findings of said study at the twenty-third session of the Permanent Forum, to be held in 2024.
The Permanent Forum recommends that ILO, in collaboration with UNFPA and other relevant United Nations agencies, prepare a study on access to the labour market by and labour conditions of indigenous women and youth and the challenges, barriers and stereotypes that may affect their professional development, for submission to the Forum at its eighteenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends the proposal by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and other organizations to hold an expert workshop on the contribution to development of pastoralist cultures and hunting and gathering societies.