The Forum welcomes the participation of the Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in the high-level panel and dialogue on indigenous children and youth held during its second session, and expresses the hope that that will lead to enhanced monitoring and promotion of the rights of indigenous children at the national and international levels. The Forum recommends that the Chairman of the Committee inform the next meeting of the Chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies of the results of the high-level panel and dialogue. The Forum recommends that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights transmit the results of the discussion of the Committee to the Forum at its third session.
Good practices are emerging that complement public health services with traditional health practices. These practices emphasize intercultural dialogue and discussion to ensure that health care is delivered in a culturally specific way, consistent with articles 23 and 24 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These practices should be supported and promoted.
The United Nations Children's Fund should initiate country-specific situation analyses of indigenous youth and children through field offices in countries with indigenous communities and transmit such situation analyses to the Forum
The Forum urges WHO to engage in a global consultation with indigenous peoples and others on its participatory research guidelines and seek the advice of the Permanent Forum on the guidelines.
The Permanent Forum repeats its call for an end to the criminalization of indigenous midwives as expressed in the recommendations contained in paragraphs 49 and 50 of its report on its seventeenth session (E/2018/43-E/C.19/2018/11) and urges States to respect the right of indigenous peoples to maintain their traditional health practices in accordance with article 24 of the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the recognition by UNICEF of the valuable contributions indigenous children and youth can make in their local communities to ensure the sustainability of climate change adaptation and mitigation plans. The Forum urges the Fund to continue to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on indigenous children and youth, and requests that it ensure the effective participation of indigenous children and youth in the discussions on and solutions to environmental issues in accordance with article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Forum recommends that both States and indigenous peoples’ organizations consider the inclusion of youth representatives in their delegations attending the annual session of the Forum.
The Forum recommends that the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences pay special attention to the impact of violence against indigenous women, including war-related violence and domestic violence.
The Permanent Forum requests that UNICEF coordinate its activities and operations with the United Nations Programme on Youth, the secretariat of the Forum and the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus to ensure the participation of indigenous youth in the upcoming high-level meeting on youth.
Drawing attention to the dramatic changes in the lifestyles of indigenous peoples and the ensuing deterioration of indigenous health due to malnutrition and obesity, including record high rates of diabetes and related illnesses such as hypertension, heart attacks, kidney failure and blindness, the Permanent Forum calls upon WHO, UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, WFP and FAO to develop joint strategies to address the problem of diabetes and related non-communicable lifestyle illnesses. Given the alarming prevalence of diabetes among indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum calls upon WHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to establish a systematic working relationship with the Permanent Forum and the Inter-Agency Support Group to exchange experiences on health initiatives in the area of treatment and prevention of the illness, especially given their role in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
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 also recommends that WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) engage in an intersessional round table on the pandemic with Forum members to ensure that ongoing mitigation planning and efforts are uniquely adapted to the needs of indigenous peoples, including by applying intercultural approaches to health, such as those applied by PAHO in the Americas.