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Paragraph Number: 145
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum expresses appreciation to Mr. Michael Dodson for his concept paper on traditional knowledge, and recommends that the paper be widely circulated. The Permanent Forum invites States, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and indigenous peoples and their organizations and academic institutions to submit written comments to the secretariat for consideration at the seventh session of the Permanent Forum. The Permanent Forum welcomes the support and notes that the recommendation in paragraph 24 of the report of the Special Rapporteur states that: “the Permanent Forum should commission a study ... to determine whether there ought to be a shift in the focus on the protection of indigenous traditional knowledge away from intellectual property law to protection via customary law ... The study should consider how indigenous traditional knowledge could be protected at an international level by utilizing customary law, including the extent to which customary law should be reflected, thereby providing guidance to States and, subsequently, protection at national and regional levels”. The Permanent Forum would particularly welcome written submissions addressing the above recommendation. The Permanent Forum re-appoints Mr. Dodson as Special Rapporteur to present a follow-up study on indigenous traditional knowledge, taking into account the written submissions, and to present the report to the seventh session of the Permanent Forum in 2008.

Area of Work: Traditional Knowledge

Addressee: IASG, UNPFII

Paragraph Number: 134
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum, with the assistance of relevant member of the Inter-Agency Support Group, and in collaboration with indigenous experts, will conduct timely technical reviews at critical stages in the negotiations of international standards on the protection of traditional knowledge, such as the international regime on access and benefit-sharing and the deliberations of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to evaluate consistency and harmonization with existing and developing international legal instruments, standards and arrangements and, in particular, the human rights of indigenous peoples.

Area of Work: Traditional Knowledge

Addressee: Member States

Paragraph Number: 23
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recommends that States, in consultation with the indigenous peoples concerned, provide financial and technical assistance for indigenous peoples to map the boundaries of their communal lands, finalize legal and policy frameworks for the registration of collective titles, as a matter of urgency, and support indigenous peoples in preparing their claims for collective title.

Area of Work: Human rights, Economic and Social Development

Addressee: Member States

Paragraph Number: 22
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recommends that States take effective measures to halt land alienation in indigenous territories, for example, through a moratorium on the sale and registration of land, including the granting of land and other concessions in areas occupied by indigenous peoples, and also to assist indigenous communities, where appropriate, to register as legal entities.

Area of Work: Human rights, Economic and Social Development
Paragraph Number: 115
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recommends that relevant States, in cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, establish indigenous peoples’ centres in urban areas to address their medical needs and provide legal and other forms of assistance.

Area of Work: Health, Economic and Social Development
Paragraph Number: 20
Session: 3 (2004)
Full Text:

The Forum recommends that the United Nations system consider the following recommendations:

(a) The United Nations system should fully explore the protection, use and promotion of indigenous (including traditional) knowledge and ensure synergies across the relevant bodies currently investigating the issues (specifically the World Intellectual Property Organization, UNESCO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Health Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and others) and furthermore should invite the Forum to participate;

(b) UNESCO should continue to investigate indigenous pedagogy and its application to indigenous education in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples and the Forum and other relevant bodies. The study should include the use of such strategies as boarding schools and both their negative and positive effects. To assist with this investigation into indigenous education, UNESCO is urged to facilitate regional conferences and a global forum on indigenous education to identify both barriers to educational equity and good practice;

(c) The Forum calls upon Governments and UNESCO to give more attention (by increasing their budgets) to developing quality indigenous education policies (with the participation of indigenous peoples) to achieve the Dakar objectives. “Education for all” is one of the fundamental objectives of the World Education Forum that should be achieved by 2015;

(d) The Forum encourages the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNESCO and other agencies to continue to support, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, intercultural and bilingual education programmes and to promote in particular the right of education for girls;

(e) The Forum should work with UNITAR to coordinate training for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system;

(f) UNESCO is requested to facilitate a world indigenous education conference, with appropriate United Nations partners (the Forum, UNESCO, UNITAR etc.), Member States and indigenous peoples. Furthermore, UNESCO should invite indigenous peoples and the Forum to participate in United Nations activities in the field of education. UNESCO has recently completed and distributed a publication on best practices for indigenous peoples education and this should be promoted throughout the international community;

(g) UNICEF advocates bilingual and cross-cultural education for indigenous peoples and conducts schools for girls and women’s literacy programmes in Latin America, and this initiative should be further encouraged and expanded;

(h) The Forum recommends that relevant agencies and Governments, on a regional basis, should provide technical services and the political and moral support needed for the creation, recognition and functioning of future international indigenous universities;

(i) Taking into account the importance of UNESCO national commissions, the Forum recommends that the Economic and Social Council and Governments facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples in the regional commissions with the incorporation of indigenous representation;

(j) The Forum, to underscore the crucial role of language skills to sustainable development and in celebration of the United Nations Year on Education for Sustainable Development (2005), recommends that the secretariat of the Forum, together with the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF and UNESCO, explore the possibility of organizing a regional workshop in Asia or Africa on the theme “Indigenous children and language education”, to discuss policies, programmes and practical experiences with bilingual education to strengthen additive learning through the use of mother tongue and the “indigenization” of curricula in formal schooling, among members of the Forum, United Nations agencies, Governments (especially departments of education), indigenous and tribal representatives and indigenous education experts.

Area of Work: Education, Traditional Knowledge
Paragraph Number: 59
Session: 3 (2004)
Full Text:

The Forum recommends that all relevant United Nations entities and Governments:

(a) Advise Governments to revise their national legal and administrative frameworks to ensure indigenous women’s equal rights and access to social and economic services and resources, including land ownership;
(b) Identify and give recognition to the capacities of indigenous women and their specialized knowledge in the areas of health, natural environment, traditional technologies, crafts and arts, and design appropriate employment and income-generating strategies;
(c) Provide indigenous women with the appropriate education and training resources so that they can effectively access and participate in mainstream national, regional and international economic institutions.

Area of Work: Economic and Social Development, Indigenous Women

Addressee: Member States

Paragraph Number: 110
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum urges other States to provide similar support and urges regional commissions to strengthen their focus on urban indigenous peoples and issues, in particular regarding the implementation of the recommendations contained in the 2006 publication.

Area of Work: Economic and Social Development, Human Rights
Paragraph Number: 109
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum also notes the International Expert Group Meeting on Urban Indigenous Peoples and Migration, held in Chile in March 2007, and expresses its appreciation to the Government of Canada for providing funding to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for hosting the event. It also recommends that States, United Nations and civil society organizations and other stakeholders contribute to the implementation of the recommendations contained in the above-mentioned publication.

Area of Work: Economic and Social Development, Human Rights
Paragraph Number: 11
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum appoints Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Mr. Pavel Sulyandziga as special rapporteurs to elaborate papers on indigenous peoples and relevant thematic issues relating to sustainable development (for example, sustainable agriculture, land, rural development, drought and desertification), for consideration by the Commission on Sustainable Development and for the submission of its reports to the Secretary-General and to represent the Permanent Forum in the Commission’s interactive dialogues with United Nations agencies. The Commission is urged to invite a member of the Permanent Forum to attend its annual sessions.

Area of Work: Economic and Social Development, Environment
Paragraph Number: 135
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum calls upon the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to work in partnership with other members of the Inter-Agency Support Group and donors to organize regional workshops for the purposes of information exchange and capacity-building among Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities and other stakeholders with regard to the proposed international regime on access and benefit-sharing. In addition, the secretariat is called upon to provide financial support for indigenous networks to disseminate information, in appropriate and accessible languages, and through appropriate media, to indigenous communities on this issue.

Area of Work: Economic and Social Development, Cooperation

Addressee: Member States

Paragraph Number: 118
Session: 6 (2007)
Full Text:

The Permanent Forum recommends that States, in order to combat the adverse effects of migration, cooperate with indigenous peoples to provide employment and economic development opportunities within their territories.

Area of Work: Economic and Social Development