The Permanent Forum notes that various United Nations treaty bodies have repeatedly called on the Governments of Finland and Sweden to clarify and affirm the Sámi people’s rights to land and fishing, including hunting and reindeer grazing rights. The Forum urges Finland and Sweden to take action in accordance with these recommendations, without further delay. The Permanent Forum further calls on Norway to reach an agreement with the Sámi Parliament on the draft mineral act.
The Permanent Forum recommends that interested parties organize an international expert group meeting on the theme “Indigenous peoples: sacred plants and sites, articles 11, 24 and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, and requests that the conclusions of such a meeting be submitted to the Forum at its tenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that all United Nations agencies concerned with water, including UNESCO and the International Hydrological Programme, UNICEF, WHO, UNDP, the United Nations Environment Programme and FAO, give full support to the planning, development and implementation of an indigenous world forum on water in order to give voice to the indigenous peoples’ perspective of protection and access to all sources of water and its sacred role in the indigenous context.