Special emphasis should be placed by States on the involvement of city and local government authorities in engaging and supporting young indigenous people to achieve the Millennium Development Goals at the local level. Priorities for local authorities should include the creation of local youth councils with the participation of indigenous youth in decision-making, the provision of meeting spaces for young people to gather and coordinate projects, develop youth leadership, support for youth artistic and cultural expression, promotion of sport for development and peace and access to information and communication technologies
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Arctic Council formally engage with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to jointly follow up the International Experts Meeting on Climate Change and Arctic Sustainable Development: scientific, social, cultural and educational challenges (3-6 March 2009 in Monaco).
The Permanent Forum recommends to Member States that the development agenda beyond 2015 recognize indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, autonomy and self-governance, together with their right to determine their own priorities for their development, to participate in governance and policy decision-making processes at the local, national, regional and international levels and to develop mechanisms for consultation and participation of indigenous peoples, building on the fundamental right to free, prior and informed consent and full participation in the development process. The role of the United Nations country teams in that respect is crucial.
Building on the recommendation contained in paragraph 16 of its report on its sixteenth session (E/2017/43-E/C.19/2017/11), the Permanent Forum strongly encourages United Nations resident coordinators and country teams to ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples, including indigenous women and young people, in the preparation of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and country programme action plans.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should serve as a key and binding framework in the formulation of plans for development and should be considered fundamental in all processes related to climate change at the local, national, regional and global levels. The safeguard policies of the multilateral banks and the existing and future policies on indigenous peoples of United Nations bodies and other multilateral bodies should be implemented in all climate change-related projects and programmes.
The Forum recommends that the findings of the millennium ecosystem assessment and its recommendations concerning the environment be submitted to it at its fourth session, and that the participation of indigenous peoples be taken into account by the assessment in the review of its reports, analysis and findings.
Furthermore, based on this plan and considering the contributions of FAO to the fight for the eradication of hunger and food insecurity and the implementation of sustainable agriculture and rural development, as well as the FAO contribution to indigenous rights through the adoption of the international treaty on genetic resources and the voluntary guidelines on the right to food, the Forum recommends that FAO consider the development of operational guidelines on indigenous peoples and a framework tool for the promotion of indigenous rights and sustainable rural development in the framework of the goals that emerged from the World Food Summit and the World Food Summit five years later, as well as those that emerged from other international conferences, summits and conventions which are relevant to indigenous peoples
The Permanent Forum urges States to increase the provision of funding to indigenous peoples and communities for water and wastewater systems in order to improve the quality of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as address water pollution and degradation in indigenous communities.
Taking into account decision 22/16 of the Governing Council of UNEP, the Forum recommends that UNEP and relevant United Nations agencies and programmes hold consultations at the regional and national levels with indigenous peoples to examine this issue and prepare recommendations on possible further strengthening of the understanding of the link between environment and cultural diversity.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the Conference of the Parties and the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to ensure that all reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation mechanism (REDD and REDD+) programmes and projects go through a full review, with the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, to assess their validity. The parties to the Convention should adopt a grievance mechanism that allows Indigenous Peoples to identify and name non-State actors, corporations, United Nations entities, States and other organizations involved in setting up REDD programmes and projects that violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum welcomes with appreciation the decision of the General Assembly, in its resolution 66/141, to request that the Secretary-General submit to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session a comprehensive report on the rights of the child, including a focus on indigenous children. The Forum wishes to take part in any initiative undertaken by the Secretary-General in preparing the comprehensive report on the rights of the child.
The Permanent Forum welcomes indigenous peoples’ contributions to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The Forum underlines the need to develop a new programme of work and institutional arrangements on article 8 (j) and other provisions of the Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples. It recommends that the secretariat of the Convention facilitate a capacity-building process for indigenous peoples to enable them to prepare themselves for the development of new programmes of work and institutional arrangements.