The Permanent Forum reiterates the regrets that it expressed at its twenty-first session regarding the very high and inhumane incarceration rates of Indigenous Peoples globally, which contribute to poor health, poverty and early and preventable deaths. The Permanent Forum repeats its previous recommendation to the Unit ed States of America on the grating of clemency to Leonard Peltier. Owing to his age and poor health, his release is a humanitarian imperative.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Governments, bilateral and multilateral donor and development agencies and other development partners responsible for or assisting in the implementation of sectoral strategies or other programmes affecting lands owned, occupied or otherwise used by indigenous peoples review the consistency of such strategies and programmes with internationally recognized standards for the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and the impact of such strategies and programmes on indigenous communities and report to the Permanent Forum at its seventh session in 2008 on the results of these reviews and on any strategies adopted to address the challenges they might identify.
Given the anniversary of such an important milestone for Member States and indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum encourages those States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) to consider doing so.
The Permanent Forum reiterates that the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues constitutes a key forum for the achievement of more effective coordination and coherence in supporting the preparations for and the participation of indigenous peoples in the World Conference and recommends stronger engagement and the participation of all agencies, programmes and funds in the work of the Group.
The Permanent Forum recommends that UNDP, OHCHR and ILO facilitate dialogue and provide support to indigenous peoples in the areas of crisis prevention and democratic governance as they relate to extractive industries operating in indigenous territories in order to achieve more effective implementation and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the study entitled “Free, prior and informed consent: a human rights-based approach” (A/HRC/39/62), prepared by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It encourages Member States, United Nations entities, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank, regional development banks, the private sector, civil society organizations and other stakeholders, to use the study as guidance for understanding the principle of free, prior and informed consent when working on issues of concern to indigenous peoples. The Forum also encourages indigenous peoples to use the study to guide the development of their own community protocols on free, prior and informed consent for engaging with these stakeholders.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity recognize the rights of indigenous peoples over the biological and genetic resources of their own territories.
The Forum recommends strengthening the mechanisms for collaboration with United Nations agencies and Governments, and monitoring compliance with and the implementation of its recommendations made to United Nations agencies and Governments.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism pay particular attention to the impact of national security laws and anti-terrorism laws on indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum urges States, United Nations agencies and indigenous peoples’ organizations to collaborate with UN-Habitat and other United Nations agencies in their development of policy guidelines for local authorities on urban indigenous issues.
The Forum urges the United Nations Secretariat to protect the privileges and immunities of members of the Forum and recommends that immediate action be taken to address any reported incidents.
The Permanent Forum thanks the Government of Colombia for its support during the Forum mission to Colombia and requests that the Government, the United Nations country team and the United Nations agencies involved in the mission implement the recommendations contained in the mission report (E/C.19/2011/3) through consultation and full collaboration with the indigenous peoples concerned. The Permanent Forum intends to assess the implementation of the recommendations at its eleventh session.