The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its 10th meeting of the Code of Ethical Conduct to Ensure Respect for the Cultural and Intellectual Heritage of Indigenous and Local Communities Relevant to the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity (the Tkarihwaié:ri code of ethical conduct), which arose from a Forum recommendation made at its second session, and invites parties and Governments, international agencies and all those working with indigenous communities to make use of the code for research and access to, use, exchange and management of information concerning traditional knowledge.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States to include indigenous peoples’ rights in the outcomes of the 2019 Climate Summit called for by the Secretary- General, which will be held on 23 September 2019. The Forum also recommends that States, the United Nations system, indigenous peoples’ organizations and other partners secure funding to ensure the adequate participation of indigenous peoples at the Summit and at the preparatory meetings.
This dialogue follows on the international expert group meeting on the theme “Conservation and the rights of indigenous peoples” (E/C.19/2019/7). The Permanent Forum endorses the recommendations from the meeting and urges States, conservation organizations, indigenous peoples and United Nations entities to work together in implementing the recommendations.
The Permanent Forum appoints Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Mr. Aqquluk Lynge as its special rapporteurs to prepare a report on “Impact of climate change mitigation measures on the territories and lands of indigenous peoples”, to be submitted to the next Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and to be considered at the seventh session of the Permanent Forum.
Indigenous persons with disabilities face exceptionally difficult barriers both because they are indigenous and because they are disabled. The Permanent Forum recommends that States develop and provide full access to educational opportunities on an equitable basis and without discrimination for indigenous persons, as recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In particular, the Forum recommends that sign language education curricula be developed, in consultation with deaf indigenous persons, which reflect their cultures, issues, needs and preferences. Where there is State or international cooperation on education, indigenous persons with disabilities should be included. The Forum recommends that countries that have not yet ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities do so urgently.
Governments should support training in sustainable consumption towards a sustainable lifestyle and follow up initiatives, including networks and smalls grants
The Permanent Forum also recommends that States, United Nations organizations and indigenous peoples’ organizations strengthen the necessary communication, education and information infrastructure and support networks of educators on indigenous issues. Information and communication technologies (ICT) for indigenous peoples must be supported in order to close the technological and information gap.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the recognition by UNICEF of the valuable contributions indigenous children and youth can make in their local communities to ensure the sustainability of climate change adaptation and mitigation plans. The Forum urges the Fund to continue to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on indigenous children and youth, and requests that it ensure the effective participation of indigenous children and youth in the discussions on and solutions to environmental issues in accordance with article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to ensure that the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) is aligned with the rights affirmed in the Declaration, and invites UNEP to organize a dialogue to discuss the Rio+20 outcome, its implications for indigenous peoples and its implementation.
Furthermore, the Forum expresses its conviction that Governments should adopt special measures to achieve equitable educational outcomes for indigenous children, especially indigenous girls, and that special emphasis is required for headstart and early childhood programs for indigenous children
The Permanent Forum takes note of the sixth call for proposals of the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility of IFAD, which is focused on advancing indigenous peoples’ biodiversity conservation and sustainable management for adaptation and resilience to climate change. The Permanent Forum urges IFAD to facilitate direct access to climate financing to indigenous peoples’ communities and organizations through the Facility and the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme, and encourages Governments and donors to support those initiatives.
The Permanent Forum supports collaborations between indigenous groups and conservation organizations that bring together traditional and scientific knowledge holders to add the wealth of current and historical knowledge of indigenous peoples to the analysis of impacts of climate change and to mitigation solutions and adaptation strategies — recognizing and respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the provisions of article 8 (j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity.