The Permanent Forum recommends that all States apply the principles of general comment No. 11 (2009) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, entitled “Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention”.
The Permanent Forum appoints Darío José Mejía Montalvo, a member of the Forum, to conduct a study on the rights of indigenous peoples facing the global energy mix and to present that study to the Forum at its twenty-first session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that all States with indigenous peoples review their legislation, policies and programmes in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Programme of Action for the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Ad Hoc Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing consider at its next meeting the report of the international indigenous and local community consultation on access and benefit-sharing and the development of an international regime (UNEP/CBD/WG-ABS/5/INF/9).
Indigenous peoples lack recognition, and face poor implementation of their rights and flagrant violations of their rights and their lands, while the need for their free, prior and informed consent and the right to autonomy of self-government is disregarded by local businesses and transnational corporations in mining, logging, and oil and gas extraction, among other sectors. The territories and resources of indigenous peoples are seized and livelihoods are destroyed to the detriment of their knowledge, cultures and languages. In that respect, it is important to remind Member States of their duty to protect.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Human Rights Council include, where appropriate, the question of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements pertaining to indigenous peoples when undertaking its universal periodic review of States members.
The Permanent Forum recommends to the Human Rights Council that, in the course of a universal periodic review, the situation of indigenous peoples of a country under consideration also be examined.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States take measures to advance indigenous women’s right to intercultural health through its inclusion in legal frameworks and public policies, as well as programmes to guarantee culturally, geographically and financially appropriate health and social services.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the intent of Nicaragua in drafting legislation on territorial regulation of Indigenous territories. The Permanent Forum urges Nicaragua to establish dialogue with the legitimate Indigenous authorities to initiate and conclude drafting of the legislation as soon as possible, in order to prevent repetition of the recent gross human rights violations against the Mayangna Sauni and Wilu communities, allegedly committed by armed settlers. It further urges Nicaragua to ensure that perpetrators are held to account through the justice system for the murders committed and for the destruction of property. Impunity is not an option.
The Permanent Forum notes that, over the course of the global COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities for consultations and participation in decision-making have increasingly moved online. Although in-person meetings and interaction should always be the preferred option, on-line consultations and decision-making present opportunities for enhanced participation. However, these online options expose existing inequalities and a digital divide that is especially detrimental to the participation of indigenous peoples in many parts of Africa, Latin America, the Pacific and in rural areas around the world. Recognizing that virtual dialogues, consultations and other events will continue beyond the pandemic, the Forum emphasizes that existing mechanisms to support the participation of indigenous peoples in processes that affect them must adapt to this new environment and support the online participation of indigenous peoples. This includes purchasing data packages and facilitating access to electricity and necessary hardware and in-country travel to gain access to stable Internet connections. The Forum notes that current administrative processes of the United Nations do not facilitate such participation and therefore requests that the Secretary-General instruct relevant United Nations entities to make the necessary arrangements as a matter of urgency.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Plurinational State of Bolivia should speed up implementation of the constitutional provisions regarding the freeing of individuals, families and communities in the light of the fact that forced labour and servitude are serious human rights violations that must be addressed with great urgency.
The Forum wishes to express its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples for his participation at the second session of the Forum and for his important contribution thereto. The Forum invites the Special Rapporteur to participate annually at its sessions and to inform the Forum on his work in accordance with his mandate.