The Permanent Forum encourages national and international financial institutions to target indigenous peoples as beneficiaries of their micro-financing mechanisms and other relevant mechanisms, with the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States continue to develop legislation to support genuine indigenous representation and participation in decision-making. Legislative measures that create practical, economic, legal and political difficulties for the establishment and functioning of indigenous organizations and institutions worldwide should be addressed in order to allow for cross-border and international cooperation between indigenous peoples of different countries and with and within international organizations on issues and processes affecting them.
The Permanent Forum recommends that indigenous peoples’ organizations, particularly those concerned with indigenous women and young people, participate fully in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes related to the Millennium Development Goals. This includes participation in the preparations for the summit on the Millennium Development Goals through national consultation processes and in decision-making on the proposed summit outcome.
Sport and physical education are an essential element of quality education, and promote positive values and skills which have a quick but lasting impact on young people. Sports activities and physical education generally make school more attractive and improve attendance.
Owing to the cross-cutting nature of gender equality, it is also critical that gender perspectives be fully integrated into the implementation and monitoring of all the other objectives associated with the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the recent entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Forum encourages Member States to accede to the Optional Protocol and requests the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to consider the preparation of a general comment on the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples.