The Forum encourages organizers of pre-sessional regional meetings of indigenous peoples to develop suggestions and recommendations for the Forum to consider and encourages its members to participate in such meetings
The Permanent Forum welcomes the invitation extended by the Russian Federation to hold a United Nations expert group meeting devoted to environmental and indigenous peoples’ issues in Khabarovsk, Russian Federation, in August 2007, and invites other States to follow its good example.
The Permanent Forum thanks the Governments of Canada and the United States of America for hosting its 2011 pre-sessional meeting, and thanks the Governments of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Spain, Norway, Denmark and Greenland and China for having hosted previous pre-sessional meetings of the Forum. The Permanent Forum recommends that States that have not yet done so consider hosting future pre-sessional meetings. The Permanent Forum also requests that the Secretariat organize pre-sessional meetings for future sessions of the Forum.
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 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.
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 the relevant United Nations agencies and Member States with reindeer herding peoples support training and education programmes for indigenous reindeer herding youth and communities in order to secure the future sustainability and resilience of the Arctic and sub-Arctic indigenous pastoral reindeer herding societies and cultures in the face of climate change, land-use change and globalization.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its concern over environmental violence, in particular the pervasive impacts of such violence on indigenous women and girls. The Forum takes note with appreciation of the recommendations from the third International Indigenous Women’s Symposium on Environment and Reproductive Health, held at Columbia University in New York on 14 and 15 April 2018. The Forum recommends that members of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues and the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council consider ways to address and incorporate the recommendations from that Symposium.
The Permanent Forum expresses its thanks to the Governments of Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Canada, China, the Congo, Denmark, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Norway, the Russian Federation, Spain and the United States, as well as the government of Greenland, for having hosted previous pre-sessional and intersessional meetings of the Forum. The Forum stresses the importance of organizing such pre-sessional and intersessional meetings and reiterates its recommendation that States that have not yet done so consider hosting such meetings in the future. It also requests that the secretariat of the Forum organize pre-sessional meetings for future sessions of the Forum.
However, elements of the Tkarihwaié:ri code of ethical conduct are voluntary. The Permanent Forum is concerned that paragraph one of the code is restrictive as it includes the following: “They should not be construed as altering or interpreting the obligations of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity or any other international instrument. They should not be interpreted as altering domestic laws, treaties, agreements or other constructive arrangements that may already exist.”
The Forum urges the Global Alliance For Vaccination Initiatives (GAVI) to sponsor a workshop and also urges UNDP to co-sponsor a workshop to expand global programmes for immunization and vaccination of indigenous women and children and to assess the need for safety protocols relating thereto. The Permanent Forum recommends that its focal point in health and a representative of the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus on Health be invited to attend and be provided the means to participate.
The Permanent Forum is equally alarmed at the many testimonies from Indigenous Peoples on the establishment of protected areas and conservation measures without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples and the persistent violations of their human rights in the context of conservation. The Permanent Forum underlines that it is the responsibility of Member States and other actors to obtain free, prior and informed consent directly from Indigenous Peoples when developing policies and legislation pertaining to conservation measures and protected areas.