The Permanent Forum calls upon the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP and other entities of the United Nations system to develop programmes and projects that support and build the capacity of indigenous women in Africa in order to empower them economically and socially. A good practice in this regard is strengthening the entrepreneurship of indigenous women and facilitating their access to formal markets and financial institutions for their activities. The Forum also encourages States to develop affirmative actions that are aimed at actively including indigenous women in decision-making at all levels and at ensuring that indigenous women’s voices are equally represented in economic, social and political decision-making processes.
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.
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 Permanent Forum recommends that FAO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) provide special attention and support to food sovereignty and security concerns of indigenous peoples through thematic studies, the adoption of participatory methodologies, and technical and financial assistance.
According to articles 25 to 36 of the Declaration, States shall uphold the right to the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples and avoid, minimize and adjudicate disputes concerning land, territory or resources arising from extractive industries, large-scale water, energy and infrastructure projects, and agricultural investments.
The Permanent Forum notes that in international law, the right to adequate food and the fundamental right to be free from hunger apply to everyone without discrimination. The Permanent Forum is concerned about the implementation gap between what is legally recognized and the reality. The right to food is frequently denied or violated, often as a result of systematic discrimination or the widespread lack of applicability of indigenous peoples’ rights. The Permanent Forum recommends that States engage in an inclusive and participatory process to ensure food sovereignty and security, in accordance with the principles of free, prior and informed consent, and develop standards and methodologies and cultural indicators to assess and address food sovereignty.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the legal reforms and policies carried out in some States to recognize the right of indigenous peoples to food and food sovereignty. It would also like to encourage the remaining States to take the steps towards its recognition. The Permanent Forum encourages States to take positive actions to facilitate the capacity of indigenous peoples to strengthen traditional food systems, such as formally recognizing and demarcating indigenous territories to enable them to carry out productive food activities, in accordance with article
8 (2) (b) of the Declaration, which prohibits States from any action that has the aim or effect of dispossessing indigenous peoples of their lands, territories or resources.
The Permanent Forum urges UNDP to further strengthen the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples by choosing indigenous peoples’ organizations as their implementing partners and responsible parties in their projects involving indigenous peoples, especially those with established track records in project implementation. As a corollary to the foregoing, government agencies created to promote and protect the rights and interests of indigenous peoples should be preferred as implementing partners in UNDP programming on indigenous peoples’ issues so that they can effectively perform their mandate
During the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the members of the Permanent Forum were not able to register as United Nations experts. Forum members attend many United Nations meetings where their specific status is not recognized. The Forum therefore recommends that Member States include Forum members as United Nations experts, not as part of major groups, in United Nations accreditation processes.
The Permanent Forum recommends the development and inclusion of clear indicators and monitoring tools relating to indigenous peoples in the sustainable development goals and post-2015 development process, to be developed jointly with indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the summary and outcome of the discussion on the post-2015 process held during the twelfth session of the Forum and the outcome of the consultations held with indigenous peoples in preparation for the post-2015 development agenda be transmitted as background documents to the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
The Permanent Forum recommends that the co-chairs of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals invite members of the Forum and representatives of indigenous peoples, including indigenous women, youth and persons with disabilities, to participate in the dedicated meeting that the co-chairs intend to convene later in 2013 in order to have a comprehensive dialogue and interaction with indigenous peoples.