The Permanent Forum recommends that Canada operationalize the Declaration by passing Bill C-262 (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act) as a significant step towards reconciliation.
The Permanent Forum urges States that have been recommended by the universal periodic review to ratify the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), to do so
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the Ibero-American Action Plan for the Implementation of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2018 and the establishment of an indigenous peoples’ regional observatory, led by the Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, as a tool to measure the progress made in implementing the Declaration. In addition, the Forum encourages Member States and the United Nations system to strengthen cooperation with the Fund, considering its fundamental role in the region in processes of dialogue and consultation between States and indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the signing of the peace accord in Colombia and the efforts to implement it. The Forum takes note of Colombia’s statement at the eighteenth session of the Forum on the need to protect the lives and integrity of indigenous human rights defenders. The Forum is, however, deeply concerned that killings of indigenous leaders have been increasing. The Forum urges the Government of Colombia to intensify its efforts to provide effective measures to prevent further attacks and to ensure peace and security for indigenous human right defenders and leaders.
The Permanent Forum notes with appreciation the work of the trilateral working group on violence against indigenous women and girls and urges Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, in cooperation with United Nations entities, to organize an international expert group meeting, by 2021, on ongoing issues of violence against indigenous women and girls in the region, including trafficking, as well as the continuing crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.
The Permanent Forum urges the member organizations of the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights to commission independent evaluations of the impact of their organizations’ work on indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the progressive decisions made by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in favour of the collective rights of indigenous peoples. The Forum is concerned about the lack of implementation and urges the Government of Kenya to fully implement its decisions on applications 006/2012 (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Republic of Kenya) and 276/03 (Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group (on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council) v. Kenya).
The Permanent Forum reiterates its grave concerns about the situation of indigenous human rights defenders who continue to be harassed, criminalized, prosecuted or even killed for exercising their legitimate rights to protect their lands, territories and resources, especially in the context and activities of extractive industries. The Forum calls upon Member States to take a zero-tolerance approach to violence against indigenous human rights defenders, to develop and implement all measures necessary to respect and protect indigenous human rights defenders, to duly investigate any act against them and to prosecute those responsible to the full extent of the law.
The Permanent Forum encourages UNFPA to organize, in full cooperation with indigenous peoples, a global symposium on indigenous young people and women during the summit to be held Nairobi in November 2019 to advance the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development so that their key concerns are incorporated into the review and appraisal of the Programme of Action
The Permanent Forum encourages Member States, in particular those in Africa and Asia, to invite the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples to undertake country studies and promote best practices in realizing the rights of indigenous peoples.
Recalling the recommendation contained in the report of its fifteenth session (E/2016/43-E/C.19/2016/11, para. 52), the Permanent Forum urges States to take measures for settlement, protection and security in post-conflict areas and for the construction of durable and lasting peace, promoting the full and effective inclusion of indigenous peoples, including indigenous women, in any initiative for peace and reconciliation. The Forum also recommends that the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and indigenous peoples, including women and young people, consider indigenous peoples’ traditional conflict resolution systems for achieving durable and lasting peace.
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.