The Constitution of Nepal has provisions for special, protected and autonomous regions for Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum welcomes further progress towards realizing the provisions of the Constitution, including by considering the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to Nepal in 2018 on respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their traditional lands and resources and to self-determination.
The Permanent Forum commends States for recognizing the collective rights of indigenous peoples to lands, territories and resources and at the same time urges them to take immediate steps for the implementation of those rights through programmes for mapping, titling or other actions and legislative reforms. The Forum urges States to report to it by its twentieth session on steps taken in that regard.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Paraguay should propose the negotiation of international agreements for protection of the rights of indigenous peoples with the other States of the Chaco region — the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil — and particularly with the Plurinational State of Bolivia with a view to the latter’s development of additional policies aimed at the freeing of individuals, the recovery of land and the rebuilding of peoples.
During its tenth session, the Permanent Forum emphasized that redefining the relationship between indigenous peoples and the State as an important way to understand the doctrine of discovery and a way to develop a vision of the future for reconciliation, peace and justice. To that end, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a strong human rights framework and standards for the redress of such false doctrines, notably in articles 3, 28 and 37. The Permanent Forum encourages the conduct of the processes of reconciliation “in accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, and respect for human rights, equality, non-discrimination, good governance and good faith”.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the increased cooperation between itself and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and strongly recommends that the Human Rights Council maintain the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.
The Permanent Forum strongly urges the General Assembly to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Forum underlines the importance for country-specific special rapporteurs, thematic special rapporteurs, experts and representatives of the Commission on Human Rights to pay special attention to the situation of indigenous peoples in their respective fields.
Businesses, in their human rights due diligence processes, should meaningfully engage with indigenous peoples as rights holders in business decisions and outcomes affecting them. In that regard, free, prior and informed consent should be understood as their right to give or withhold consent.