The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiatives of national human rights institutions, such as those from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and encourages other human rights institutions to conduct national inquiries on the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Union for Conservation of Nature actively engage with indigenous organizations, relevant United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations and other actors to develop a set of actions and commitments in relation to conservation and human rights in the context of the post-2020 biodiversity framework and the next World Conservation Congress.
The Permanent Forum recognizes development of renewable energy sources but remains alarmed that irresponsible development related to green technology and the green transition, has led, at times, to violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including mineral extraction and the building of hydroelectric dams and other large-scale infrastructure without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States provide the resources necessary to develop and implement Indigenous Peoples’ own free, prior and informed consent protocols in such contexts.
The Permanent Forum calls on States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and principles of sustainability and to call on transnational corporations to respect those standards. This applies particularly to highly industrialized States and the transnational corporations that engage in development activities in those States.
The Permanent Forum urges States to implement articles 11 and 13 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular in relation to the practice and revitalization of indigenous peoples’ languages, cultural traditions and customs as a way of building resilience and preventing self-harm, violence and suicide.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges IFAD for the implementation of its policy on indigenous peoples and for selecting “Indigenous peoples’ food systems and sustainable livelihoods” as the theme of the second global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD. The Forum expects that IFAD will continue to strengthen its engagement with indigenous peoples in its future work by ensuring engagement at the country level through targeted programmes, capacity-building for indigenous peoples and project staff and the development of specific indicators on the well-being of indigenous peoples.
Affirmation of the status of indigenous peoples as “peoples” is important in fully respecting and protecting their human rights. Consistent with its 2010 report (E/2010/43-E/C.19/2010/15), the Permanent Forum calls upon the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and especially including the Nagoya Protocol, to adopt the terminology “indigenous peoples and local communities” as an accurate reflection of the distinct identities developed by those entities since the adoption of the Convention almost 20 years ago