With reference to article 42 of the United Nations Declaration, the Permanent Forum invites African States, in particular Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Nigeria and Rwanda, to present, at its sixteenth session, information on the situation of indigenous peoples affected by conflict in those countries.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the commitments and support of the Member States that have established action plans, in parallel with the Global Action Plan, that include support for transformative initiatives that strengthen and protect Indigenous languages, such as the establishment of universities of Indigenous Peoples’ languages in Mexico and Morocco and the efforts of Nordic and other countries in committing to engaging in digital communication and information technologies for Indigenous Peoples’ languages. For those Member States that have yet to develop an action plan, the Permanent Forum reiterates the call for Member States to initiate such plans, in full cooperation with Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the General Assembly, by 2020, proclaim an international year of indigenous languages and draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages and to take further urgent steps at the national and international levels.
The Permanent Forum urges the Government of Kenya to implement the recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the rights of Endorois to the ownership of their ancestral lands, to the restitution thereof and to compensation in that connection.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States, in their regular reporting to the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and, in particular, to the Human Rights Council through the universal periodic review, to include the actions taken to implement the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Plurinational State of Bolivia should speed up implementation of the constitutional provisions regarding the freeing of individuals, families and communities in the light of the fact that forced labour and servitude are serious human rights violations that must be addressed with great urgency.
The Permanent Forum reaffirms and reiterates that self-determination, free, prior and informed consent and accountability form the basis of, and prerequisite for, any relationship that can be called a true partnership for development, and urges all States, indigenous peoples, United Nations bodies, international development agencies, corporations and the private sector, as well as civil society, to uphold these vital principles.