The Permanent Forum is concerned that legal obligations and commitments and indigenous peoples’ treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements with States are routinely denied and violated by States. With regard to interventions by indigenous peoples on unresolved land rights, including the Six Nations of the Grand River and others on which the Forum has made specific recommendations in the past, the Forum calls upon States to fairly and equitably redress the long-standing unresolved land rights issues through good-faith negotiations, consistent with the United Nations Declaration and without extinguishing indigenous peoples’ land rights.
Reiterating the recommendation made at its seventh session, the Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration focus on the vulnerability of indigenous peoples in the Pacific region, in particular in view of the effects of climate change (see E/2008/43-E/C.19/2008/13, chap. 1, sect. B, para. 59).
The Permanent Forum calls on UNEP to conduct a fast track assessment of short-term drivers of climate change, specifically black carbon, with a view to initiating negotiation of an international agreement to reduce emissions of black carbon.
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 recommends that the Framework Convention on Climate Change, in cooperation with States, provide adaptation funds to indigenous peoples affected by climate change-related disasters. Indigenous peoples whose lands have already disappeared or have become uninhabitable or spoilt due to seawater rise, floods, droughts or erosion, and who have thus become environmental refugees or displaced persons, should be provided with appropriate relocation with the support of the international community.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States develop laws and policies to ensure the recognition, continued vitality and protection from misappropriation of indigenous traditional knowledge.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and States parties thereto to develop mechanisms to promote the participation of indigenous peoples in all aspects of the international dialogue on climate change.