The Permanent Forum again urges Member States to ensure that Indigenous Peoples are afforded full and effective participation in all planning and policy development to address climate change. Indigenous-led climate change policies incorporate the vital knowledge of Indigenous Peoples for land management and stewardship of natural resources while protecting health, equity, justice and sustainability. Principles of free, prior and informed consent must be followed in the development of all climate change policies and actions.
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 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 invites UNFPA, in collaboration with the Forum, to identify good practices of culturally appropriate intervention models from its work in developing countries that provide support to indigenous peoples, in particular women and girls, in exercising their health and reproductive rights, and to report to the Forum on those models by 2018.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the study transmitted in the note by the Secretariat entitled “Improving the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples globally: operationalization of Indigenous determinants of health” (E/C.19/2024/5). The Forum recognizes that the Indigenous determinants of health framework contains 33 risk and protective factors that empower United Nations entities and Member States to improve the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples. Those entities and Member States must adopt the framework to operationalize the Indigenous determinants of health globally.