The Permanent Forum calls upon all States to work with indigenous peoples to develop and implement right-to-health indicators, to utilize the findings in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and to set benchmarks and timelines to ensure that indigenous peoples’ right to health is progressively realized, as required by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in the Millennium Development Goals.
Reinforce the investments in population and reproductive health which is crucial for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals - to reduce poverty, achieve universal primary education, improve maternal and child health, curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, promote gender equality, ensure sustainable development, and establish a strong partnership for development
The Forum urges UNICEF, UNDP, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Global Fund for AIDS to gather and disaggregate data on indigenous infants, children and mothers based on criterion relating to ethnicity, cultural and tribal affiliation and language.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the global Stop TB Partnership, which is housed within the World Health Organization (WHO). It urges the Partnership to ensure that indigenous peoples’ concerns are fully included and that they participate in the decision-making body in implementing programmes and projects.
The Permanent Forum appreciates the participation, at its twenty-first session, of the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes and recommends that the Special Rapporteur urge Member States to guarantee indigenous peoples’ rights to clean water. The Permanent Forum invites the Special Rapporteur to participate at its twenty-second session, in 2023.
The Forum urges WHO to attend its sessions, and encourages WHO to submit a report to it at its fourth session, responding to recommendations made by the Forum at its first to third sessions. The Forum regrets that WHO was unable to respond to its recommendations made at its second session, in particular those contained in chapter I, section B, paragraphs 16, 63-64, 68, 74, 79 and 82.
The Permanent Forum appreciates the steps taken by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNFPA and the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues for the organization of an international workshop on indigenous peoples and HIV/AIDS, and calls on Member States and United Nations entities to contribute to the workshop.
The Permanent Forum recognizes that, owing to historical and ongoing discriminatory practices in the delivery of healthcare, including in the administration of vaccines, there is distrust that needs to be acknowledged and addressed by governments. Therefore, the Forum recommends that governments collaborate with indigenous peoples’ representatives and leaders, provide culturally appropriate information in indigenous peoples’ languages, engage with indigenous healthcare practitioners and support indigenous peoples’ organizations that are already providing pandemic-related support in their communities.