The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States actively engage with their indigenous peoples in both developed countries and developing countries, including indigenous women, indigenous youth and indigenous persons with disabilities, in developing key indicators on indigenous peoples, including for data disaggregation, to be included in the overall indicators for the post-2015 development agenda to be adopted in March 2016.
The Forum recommends that a world conference on indigenous peoples in the information society be organized on the occasion of the World Summit on the Information Society (10-12 December 2003), in close cooperation with interested Governments and NGOs. It is recommended that the assistance of the secretariat of the Summit be provided for the organization of such an event. The Forum recommends that a written report on indigenous peoples in the information society be addressed by the focal point of the Forum, Mr. Matias, to the preparatory committee for the Summit before 31 August 2003.
The Permanent Forum recommends that relevant countries among the 44 countries undergoing voluntary national reviews at the high-level political forum in 2017 include indigenous peoples in their reviews, reports and delegations. The Forum invites those Member States to report on good practices of including indigenous peoples’ indicators in the voluntary national reviews to the Forum at its seventeenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations system continue to build the capacities of indigenous peoples’ organizations and to develop their knowledge and skills to have their rights respected, protected and fulfilled.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for the collection of disaggregated statistical data on the situation of indigenous peoples. Where such data are available, they have shown that the pandemic has affected indigenous peoples differently than other populations, requiring culturally appropriate approaches and solutions. The Permanent Forum reiterates its recommendation to Member States to collect and disseminate disaggregated statistical data on indigenous peoples, in close cooperation with indigenous peoples themselves, in order to support evidence-based policymaking and programming.
In accordance with article 16 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, indigenous peoples have the right to full freedom of expression, including the right to establish their own media in their own languages. The Permanent Forum is concerned that indigenous peoples of Latin America have been criminalized for the establishment of community radio stations and urges Member States to protect the rights of indigenous communicators