Recognizing that the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues will play a central role in coordinating efforts among United Nations agencies to translate the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples into meaningful change, the Permanent Forum requests that the Group ensure that its membership includes all United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, including specialized agencies. The Forum recommends that the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the Advisory Board of the United Nations Office for Partnerships and other relevant United Nations agencies take the measures necessary for addressing the special situation of indigenous peoples in developed countries.
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.
The Permanent Forum recalls its invitation to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to initiate a general comment on the collective rights of indigenous peoples to lands, territories and natural resources. The Forum welcomes the decision of the Committee to draft a general comment on land and economic, social and cultural rights. However, the Forum expresses its concern about the limited participation of indigenous peoples in the drafting of the general comment and invites the Committee to consider facilitating the participation of indigenous peoples. The Forum also invites the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples to provide support in this regard.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the lively and analytical dialogue that emerged from the half-day discussion on the African region and encourages the United Nations Development Group to facilitate further dialogue between States and indigenous peoples at the African continental level to foster better understanding of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the commitments to indigenous peoples that Member States have made. Within this framework, capacity-building at the national level should be enhanced.
The Forum recommends that the agencies and bodies of the United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund rethink the concept of development, with the full participation of indigenous peoples in development processes, taking into account the rights of indigenous peoples and the practices of their traditional knowledge.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States consider the document entitled “The human development framework and indigenous peoples’ self-determined development or development with culture and identity” (E/C.19/2010/CRP.4) and in particular pay attention to the conclusions and recommendations provided therein.
The Permanent Forum commends the inclusion by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development of free, prior and informed consent in its policy on indigenous peoples, and strongly urges other multilateral and bilateral financial institutions to follow this example. In particular, the Forum calls upon the Asian Development Bank to ensure that free, prior and informed consent and the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are integrated into its revised policy on indigenous peoples. It also calls upon the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation to review their policies and adopt free, prior and informed consent as the central principle in their dealings with indigenous peoples instead of the present free, prior, informed consultation. The international financial institutions should develop a strategy to raise staff awareness at the national and headquarters levels on indigenous peoples’ rights and development perspectives and thereby improve their relationships with indigenous peoples at the country level.
In accordance with articles 20 and 21 of the Declaration, the Permanent Forum urges States to develop legislation, policies and programmes supporting traditional livelihoods with the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples. In particular, the Forum urges the Government of Finland to renew the Reindeer Herding Act with the full and effective participation of the Sami people
The Permanent Forum is concerned about the recent grant by the World Bank of a waiver to its indigenous peoples policy (operational policy 4.10) and requests that the World Bank ensure that waivers will not be used in the future. Furthermore, the Forum requests that the Bank conduct a review of the impact on indigenous peoples of the waiver issued to the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania Programme and present its findings to the Forum
The Forum takes note of the adoption by the Commission on Sustainable Development of a substantive agenda for the next several years, and decides to prepare inputs to the Commission according to the calendar adopted by the Commission. In preparation for the first cluster for 2004-2005 on water, sanitation and human settlements, the Forum recommends that its secretariat prepare, without financial implications, a brief draft position paper and to submit it to the Forum at its third session.