The Permanent Forum invites the Chairman of the Special Committee to report on the decolonization process within the Pacific region to the Forum at its eighth session in 2009.
The Permanent Forum recommends to the Human Rights Council that, in the course of a universal periodic review, the situation of indigenous peoples of a country under consideration also be examined.
The Permanent Forum encourages the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Human Rights Council to continue the process of addressing rights related to treaties and agreements between indigenous peoples and the United States and Canada, including through the consideration and implementation of the recommendations resulting from the first two United Nations treaty seminars, held in 2003 and 2006, and by taking steps to hold a third seminar, as mandated by the Economic and Social Council, and urges the Expert Mechanism to advance the work on treaties.
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 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 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, in accordance with article 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the right to the lands, territories and resources that the indigenous peoples have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired), requests States, United Nations agencies, churches, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to fully respect the property rights of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact in the Amazon and the Paraguayan and Bolivian Chaco.
The Permanent Forum has learned from indigenous peoples’ communications, which have been corroborated by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, that in the Chaco region there are Guaraní communities in a practical state of slavery. According to the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, as well as the articles 17, 26 and 28 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Forum strongly supports the efforts of the current Government of Bolivia and the commitment of the incoming Government of Paraguay to discontinue this enslaving practice and return indigenous lands to their lawful owners, the Guaraní themselves.
The Permanent Forum reiterates the call, made at its tenth session, to United Nations agencies and funds to conduct and support regional and international human rights training programmes aimed at building the capacity and advocacy skills of indigenous youth. Furthermore, the Forum recommends the use of social media, youth forums and other popular cultural forms of communication to disseminate information and training material on the rights of indigenous youth and to facilitate consultation processes at the national and international levels.
The Permanent Forum calls the attention of States to the need to create or strengthen national bodies with a mandate for the protection of the rights and interests of indigenous peoples in line with the Declaration. The Forum notes the efforts of certain States to create institutions for the rights and interests of indigenous peoples as Government bodies, including ombudsmen who deal with issues and situations regarding the protection of the rights and interests of indigenous peoples. It recommends that other States draw upon such experiences which highlight the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples.
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 requests all States to include developments relating to the rights of indigenous peoples in their regular reports to the Human Rights Council under the universal periodic review mechanism.