The Permanent Forum expresses appreciation for Nepal being the only Asian country to ratify the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), in 2007. Nevertheless, it is concerning that, even 10 years after ratification, the Government has not adopted a national action plan to implement the Convention. The Forum recommends that Nepal immediately adopt a national action plan, including in line with its commitment in the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. The Forum urges other Asian States to consider ratifying the Convention as per the recommendations made by treaty bodies and in the universal periodic review.
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.
A majority of States have yet to grant official recognition to indigenous peoples, let alone their collective rights to lands, territories and resources. The Permanent Forum expresses its grave concern about the non-recognition of indigenous peoples, in particular in Africa and Asia, and recommends that States incorporate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into national legislation, policies and programmes.
Positive developments have been achieved in setting international human rights standards for the rights of indigenous peoples to lands, territories and resources, including by regional human rights mechanisms in Africa and the Americas. The Permanent Forum welcomes those developments, including the recent decision of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the case of the Ogiek community in Kenya. The Forum encourages indigenous peoples and States to engage further with regional mechanisms and to implement their decisions effectively.
The Permanent Forum takes note with concern of the situation of indigenous peoples of the Sahel and other parts of Africa, where a number of factors, including climate change, are having a devastating impact on economic development and human security. The lack of recognition of the collective rights of these peoples has created fertile ground for their loss of territories and resources and the emergence of complex forms of conflict, including violent extremism. The Forum calls on the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to prepare recommendations for the consideration of the African Union to address this situation, in partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa and other regional bodies.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the results of the 2018 High-level Expert Seminar on Indigenous Food Systems, in particular the creation of an online global hub on indigenous food systems, and would like to recommend that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continue work on: (a) Indigenous young people towards the creation of a forum on indigenous young people in the coming years; (b) Indigenous food systems, in particular in relation to the links with traditional knowledge, climate change and the respect of indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, territories and resources; (c) Indigenous women (the global campaign on indigenous women and the leadership and food security schools for indigenous women).
The Permanent Forum recommends that agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system, in collaboration with indigenous peoples ’ organizations, monitor the high levels of global violence and threats directed at indigenous women human rights defenders. The Forum calls for an immediate halt to the criminalization,
incarceration, intimidation, coercion and assassination of, and death threats to, all indigenous human and environmental rights defenders.
The Permanent Forum recalls its previous recommendations on the progress of the implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord and calls upon the Government of Bangladesh to take appropriate steps in this regard on an urgent basis. In particular, the Forum urges the Government to frame rules for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Disputes Resolution Commission and to generate ethnically disaggregated data, including for the national census of 2021.
With regard to the development of national action plans, as committed to by Member States at the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, the Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption by the Government of El Salvador of a national action plan and encourages its full and effective implementation. The Forum strongly urges other States to follow this good practice and develop their own national action plans for the full implementation of the Declaration. The Forum also encourages States to review recommendations made at past sessions, renew efforts at their implementation and report on progress made by 2021. The Forum invites the United Nations system to support the efforts of Member States in this regard.
In the light of the emerging international legal framework for local communities, the Permanent Forum recommends that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) prepare, in consultation with other relevant United Nations entities, including the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and before 2022, a comparative legal study that analyses the rights of indigenous peoples and the emerging rights of local communities.
Climate change and environmental issues are a major threat to indigenous peoples. The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to use, maintain and control their lands, territories and resources, and develop mechanisms for their inclusion in relevant decision-making processes. The Forum calls upon States to cooperate with indigenous peoples and consider their traditional knowledge in environmental impact assessment procedures and in local, regional and national development plans. The Forum also recommends that States implement inclusive environmental and land management policies, in line with the Declaration.
In this regard, the Forum invites the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to pay special attention to the situation of indigenous peoples and address these issues in accordance with their mandates. The Forum recommends that IOM and UNHCR develop specific guidelines on indigenous migrants and to actively participate in the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues.