The Permanent Forum recommends that States and the United Nations system, with particular attention to the activities of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), introduce indigenous youth perspectives into existing youth policies and plans, including the five-year action agenda of the Secretary-General to address health issues. In addition, there should be a distinct focus on indigenous youth by improving participation in decision-making and by introducing and including mental health services for young people, with particular efforts to address suicide among indigenous youth.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund and other relevant entities coordinate in the formulation of key intercultural standards and indicators of quality of care to be considered in the definition of a future post-2015 goal on universal health coverage that includes the sexual and reproductive health of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the report (E/C.19/2014/8) and recommendations of the expert group meeting, and reiterates and supports the recommendations contained in paragraphs 62, 63, 64, 70 and 72 of the report, as set out below, which are specifically addressed to entities of the United Nations system and States Members of the United Nations.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations agencies and actors coordinate in the development and implementation of an international research project on the sexual and reproductive health of indigenous peoples, ensuring an active partnership with indigenous peoples and organizations in all stages of the project.
The Permanent Forum further urges States to improve their collection of data on self-harm and suicide among indigenous children and youth, as well as on violence against indigenous women, boys and girls, to facilitate better understanding of the extent of the problem. States should commit to reducing the incidence of self-harm, violence and suicide among indigenous children and youth through the allocation of adequate resources to holistic prevention and support services, in partnership with indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the United Nations Children’s Fund and other relevant United Nations entities collaborate with indigenous organizations in all regions to develop comprehensive guidelines, including best practices for culturally safe sex education by and for indigenous peoples. That type of comprehensive education may serve as an effective violence-prevention means.
The Permanent Forum recommends, in paragraph 64 of the report, that the relevant United Nations entities should “conduct a study, in partnership with indigenous peoples’ organizations, that documents the linkage between environmental violence, including the operations of extractive industries, chemical pollution and the destruction of the indigenous habitat, and the sexual and reproductive health of indigenous peoples, as well as issues pertaining to sexual exploitation, trafficking of indigenous girls and sexual violence, with concrete recommendations on protection measures”.
Considering their impact on the sexual health and reproductive rights of indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum calls, in paragraph 62 of the report, for “a legal review of United Nations chemical conventions, in particular the Rotterdam Convention, to ensure that they are in conformity with international human rights standards, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.
The Permanent Forum also urges States to fund and deliver training in suicide prevention and mental health awareness to all teaching and non-teaching staff in all schools attended by indigenous children. The development of localized training programmes adapted to each culture consistent with articles 11, 14, 15 and 31 should be encouraged.
The Permanent Forum also calls upon WHO to work in close cooperation with the Forum in establishing a programme on non-communicable diseases, with special attention to indigenous peoples and diabetes. The Forum recognizes the findings of the Expert Meeting on Indigenous Peoples, Diabetes and Development, held in Copenhagen on 1 and 2 March 2012, and its outcome document entitled “The Copenhagen call to action” and recommends that those outcomes be considered when establishing the programme.
The Permanent Forum urges States to promote indigenous community-controlled models for the health, social, legal and other sectors of indigenous communities and service providers to follow in implementing the Declaration. It recommends that WHO revisit the report of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health to address the cultural determinants of health, such as land, language, ceremony and identity, which are essential to the health and well-being of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum urges States to implement articles 11 and 13 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular in relation to the practice and revitalization of indigenous peoples’ languages, cultural traditions and customs as a way of building resilience and preventing self-harm, violence and suicide.