The Forum recommends that the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant United Nations bodies such as UNEP, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), UNDP, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the World Bank, WIPO, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, support indigenous peoples’ organizations in order to develop capacity on research, work and proposals on human indicators applicable to the implementation of the environmental conventions and the plans and programmes of work of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Forum recommends that United Nations bodies, in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity, in coordination with the World Bank, UNDP, FAO and IFAD, and UNEP, organize a workshop on protecting sacred places and ceremonial sites of indigenous peoples with a view to identifying protective mechanisms and instituting a legal framework that make cultural, environmental and social impact assessments studies mandatory and ensure the environmental accountability of economic, social and environmental projects that are proposed to be conducted on sacred sites and on lands, territories and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Secretary-General, in his report on the study of violence against women, address the particular situation of indigenous women and girls whose suffering is based not only on gender but also on ethnicity and culture.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) strategy of inclusion and visibility of indigenous women, which responds to the system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples and the recommendation of the Forum (E/2014/43/Corr.1-E/C.19/2014/11/Corr.1, para. 35) on including the priorities of indigenous women in global, regional and national programmes. The Forum encourages Member States to allocate sufficient funding for the implementation of the strategy. The Forum encourages UN-Women to emphasize enhancing the participation and capacities of indigenous young women and girls and to report on progress made to the Forum at its eighteenth session.
The Permanent Forum notes with appreciation the work of the trilateral working group on violence against indigenous women and girls and urges Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, in cooperation with United Nations entities, to organize an international expert group meeting, by 2021, on ongoing issues of violence against indigenous women and girls in the region, including trafficking, as well as the continuing crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) strategy of inclusion and visibility of indigenous women, which responds to the system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples and the recommendation of the Forum (E/2014/43/Corr.1-E/C.19/2014/11/Corr.1, para. 35) on including the priorities of indigenous women in global, regional and national programmes. The Forum encourages Member States to allocate sufficient funding for the implementation of the strategy. The Forum encourages UN-Women to emphasize enhancing the participation and capacities of indigenous young women and girls and to report on progress made to the Forum at its eighteenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Secretary-General, in his report on the study of violence against women, address the particular situation of indigenous women and girls whose suffering is based not only on gender but also on ethnicity and culture.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources. It requests FAO to give priority to strategic priority No. 6 (support indigenous and local production systems and associated knowledge systems of importance to the maintenance and sustainable use of animal genetic resources), and to further develop relevant approaches to implement it, including rights-based approaches and payment for services that support the custodianship of local breeds by indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum applauds the historic decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council in recognizing the right to water as a human right, as well as its decision to initiate a study on the scope and content of the relevant human rights obligations related to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights instruments, to be submitted prior to the sixth session of the Council. The Permanent Forum also calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present to the seventh session of the Permanent Forum the results of her study on the impact on the rights of indigenous peoples in terms of contamination, diversion, appropriation and privatization of water, which is sacred to indigenous peoples and is central to all life.