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 the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to focus and coordinate their strategies and programmes in order to deal with the problems faced by indigenous peoples in Africa relevant to the mandate of the Permanent Forum on such issues as economic and social development, education, health, human rights, culture and the environment.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the President of the General Assembly take immediate steps to ensure the full, equal, direct and effective participation of indigenous peoples throughout all aspects and processes of the high-level plenary meeting/World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in order to achieve an action-oriented, concise, inclusive, constructive and comprehensive outcome that will genuinely promote the full and effective implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (art. 18).
The Permanent Forum recommends that States that have not already done so assign environment a more important profile in strategic planning initiatives at the national level and, in particular, in e-government initiatives so that the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) for the environment is integrated into planning processes from the beginning, along with other national priorities and initiatives (disposal of ICT equipment).
The Permanent Forum recognizes the role of indigenous parliamentarians in the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights, and thus recommends increasing their participation in the sessions of the Permanent Forum, adopting regional and national mechanisms to monitor the recommendations and working towards the establishment of particular mechanisms of participation.
In “a spirit of partnership and mutual respect”, the Permanent Forum emphasizes the important standards set out in articles 18, 19 and 41 of the Declaration. Article 18 provides that “indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters that would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures”, and article 19 provides that “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them”. Such equal, direct and meaningful participation by indigenous peoples throughout all stages of the World Conference is essential for the international community to achieve a constructive and comprehensive outcome that will genuinely improve the status and conditions of indigenous peoples worldwide.
The Forum recommends that FAO and the Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development Initiative work further on the development of cultural indicators for identifying priorities and criteria and methodologies for the right to food and food security, with the participation of indigenous peoples, taking into account the protection and restoration of indigenous peoples' traditional food systems and their agrobiodiversity and associated traditional knowledge and livelihoods. The threats to sustaining such systems, such as monoculture cash crop production, mineral extraction, environmental contamination and genetically modified seeds and technology, should be addressed.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the important work of the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean on its thirtieth anniversary. The Permanent Forum encourages Member States, United Nations entities and indigenous peoples to support strengthening the work of the Fund.
The Forum notes with deep appreciation the reports and responses of United Nations bodies on environment, and reaffirms its recommendations on environment made at its second session, in particular those contained in chapter I, section B, paragraphs 46-49, 54-57, and 59-61 of the report.
The Permanent Forum wishes to express its thanks to the Government of Nicaragua for hosting its 2012 pre-sessional meeting. The Forum also thanks the Governments of Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Canada, China, Denmark, Greenland, Norway, Spain and the United States of America for having hosted the Forum’s previous pre-sessional meetings, and the Government of the Congo for offering to host the 2013 pre-sessional meeting. The Forum requests that the secretariat organize pre-sessional meetings for future sessions of the Forum and urges all Member States that have not considered hosting pre-sessional meetings of the Forum to do so.
The Permanent Forum recommends that forests that have been taken by States from indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent in the name of conservation policies be restored immediately.
The Forum notes the preparation of the World Congress on Protected Areas, to be held in Durban, South Africa, in September 2003, which Forum members consider to be an important meeting calling for their attention and action. The Forum recommends that all laws, policies or work programmes on forests and protected areas guarantee, ensure and respect various aspects of indigenous peoples’ lives, such as their spiritual and cultural lives, lands and territorial rights, including sacred sites, needs and benefits, and recognize their rights of access to and control over the management of forests.