Mauna Kea, the sacred mountain for native Hawaiians, is currently targeted for the placement of an international observatory featuring a 30-metre telescope. Such an activity inhibits and is contrary to the rights articulated in articles 11 and 12 of the United Nations Declaration. In addition, the Permanent Forum strongly recommends that the free, prior and informed consent of native Hawaiians be recognized.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the study to examine challenges in the African region to protecting traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore prepared by Paul Kanyinke Sena (E/C.19/2014/2), acknowledges the support provided by the WIPO secretariat towards the completion of that study and, in this regard, calls upon the WIPO secretariat to extend its outreach and awareness-raising activities in respect of indigenous peoples, with a particular focus on African indigenous peoples so as to increase their awareness of WIPO processes, and to further develop culturally appropriate training and capacity-building materials for indigenous peoples consistent with article 41 of the Declaration.