Throughout history, indigenous peoples have moved from place to place to find water, pastureland for their animals, and game; to trade goods from different ecological zones; and even to seek job opportunities in urban areas. Mobility restrictions both within and across State borders have affected indigenous peoples adversely, with the impact on pastoralist groups particularly severe in the context of their ability to access water and food. The Permanent Forum recommends that States implement specific measures to address the mobility needs of indigenous peoples, including through cooperation with neighbouring States, and that such efforts be made with the full free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples affected.
The Permanent Forum notes the general capacity-building efforts on access and benefit-sharing in the African region carried out under Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) of Germany and encourages further efforts to bolster indigenous participation in those workshops and also in developing workshops specifically for indigenous peoples and local communities.
The Permanent Forum calls on States to ensure that indigenous peoples that are undertaking their own mitigation measures are provided with policy support, technical assistance, funding and capacity-building in order to deepen their knowledge on climate change and to allow them to implement more effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. They should gain benefits from the environmental services derived from their territories and resources. Processes and mechanisms for the valuation of these environmental services, and methods that allow them to get adequate benefits, should be developed jointly with them. Efforts to create better documentation of good practices in mitigation and adaptation and to replicate and upscale these practices should likewise be supported.
The Forum recommends that the International Labour Organization inform the Forum at its third session of the impact of the major ILO technical cooperation programmes, in particular the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour, and programmes under the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights.
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 is concerned that the regional presence, representation and services of United Nations agencies in the Asia-Pacific region are limited mostly to the Asian subregion, and recommends that all United Nations agencies review their operations to provide equal services to the Pacific subregion and identify their operations separately according to the two subregions.
The Permanent Forum wishes to express its appreciation to the Inter-Agency Support Group for its contribution to the work of the Forum, and encourages all United Nations agencies to join the Group, particularly those whose area of work is of special relevance for the rights and well-being of indigenous peoples, such as the World Health Organization.
On the basis of the constructive dialogue between the Permanent Forum and the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, the Forum recommends that the members of the Support Group demonstrate strong commitment from the highest level, including by: (a) Institutionalizing dialogue between the expert members of the Forum and the principals of the funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system; (b) Allocating sufficient resources to implement the system-wide action plan for ensuring a coherent approach to achieving the ends of the United Nations Declaration; (c) Establishing institutional consultation mechanisms to ensure active collaboration and partnership with indigenous peoples at the national, regional and global levels, in both developing and developed countries; (d) Incorporating specific targets and indicators with disaggregated data to address the key issues and priorities of indigenous peoples at the national level; (e) Ensuring active cooperation between the Support Group and Forum members holding relevant agency portfolios.
The Forum invites the Economic and Social Council and the regional commissions to present reports on the economic situation, scenarios and impacts of free-trade policies, especially the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, with emphasis on indigenous peoples.
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
The Permanent Forum recommends that the World Bank, in consultation with the Forum and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, examine the involuntary resettlement of indigenous peoples in connection with projects financed by the Bank and submit a report thereon in 2014.
. Recognizing that the creative economy is among the most dynamically developing economic sectors, and noting its capacity for the sustainable development, the Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Industrial Development Organization develop, in cooperation with indigenous peoples and Member States, a comprehensive programme for the development of indigenous businesses and creative industries, including through capacity-building programmes on entrepreneurship for indigenous peoples and mechanisms for financial support to start-ups. In that regard, funding from Member States for the development of start-up incubators based on cultural heritage, traditional occupations, crafts and knowledge is encouraged.