The Permanent Forum invites the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights
Council on the situation of human rights defenders to prepare a study on the drivers
of attacks against indigenous human rights defenders in business contexts and invites
the Special Rapporteur to share information on progress with the Permanent Forum
at its twenty-second session, to be held in 2023.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the decision of Bolivia to make the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples national law and to include it in the Constitution approved by the Constituent Assembly. The Forum expresses its support for Bolivia’s implementation of the Declaration through national laws and other means that lead towards the restitution of lands and territories to the indigenous peoples of eastern Bolivia. The Forum encourages Ecuador and Nepal to give due consideration to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in their current constitutional processes.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its recommendation to ILO to accommodate and guarantee the direct participation of indigenous peoples’ organizations in ILO procedures, in particular those relating to compliance with the ILO Convention concerning the Protection and Integration of Indigenous and Other Tribal and Semi-Tribal Populations in Independent Countries (Convention No. 107) and the ILO Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (Convention No. 169) and their corresponding supervisory mechanisms. The Forum reiterates its call upon Member States to accede to the ILO Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (Convention No. 169).
The Forum appreciates the information provided by the Council of Europe on the ways in which indigenous issues have been addressed in that organization. The Forum recommends that other appropriate regional intergovernmental organizations provide it with information on the ways in which indigenous issues have been addressed in their respective mechanisms for the protection of human rights and invites them to establish contacts with the Forum and to extend their experience with other regions.
The Constitution of Nepal has provisions for special, protected and autonomous regions for Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum welcomes further progress towards realizing the provisions of the Constitution, including by considering the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to Nepal in 2018 on respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their traditional lands and resources and to self-determination.
The Permanent Forum calls on States to consult with indigenous peoples in a manner that fully respects their obligations under the Declaration and fully responds to the goals, needs and rights of indigenous peoples in the development and design of relevant legislation.
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.
Many States have established mechanisms to protect human rights. However, the Permanent Forum is concerned that such mechanisms might prioritize individual rights over collective rights. It calls upon States, in cooperation with national human rights institutions, to comply with their commitments made in the outcome document of the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, with the aim of achieving the full enforcement of the collective rights of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum continues to hear numerous accounts from indigenous peoples who are threatened by alien commercial ventures, militarization and administrative decisions that interfere with their governance over their lands, territories and resources and ultimately inhibit their capacity for sustainable development and well-being for future generations. The Forum strongly recommends that such disputes be considered in accordance with article 27 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and paragraph 21 of the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, ensuring that a mechanism exists that provides for fair, independent, impartial, open and transparent adjudication. Any mechanism established for adjudication of disputes over indigenous peoples’ lands, territories and resources should be agreed upon between States and indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the specialist group on indigenous peoples, customary and environmental law and human rights within the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy of the International Union for Conservation of Nature host a series of regional meetings to discuss the development of standards for the conservation of indigenous peoples’ lands and waters by 2020, together with indigenous peoples, NGOs and other stakeholders, in consultation with the Forum, United Nations special rapporteurs and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum supports an initiative to declare an International Year of Quinoa, recognizing the importance of quinoa to indigenous people and that it is a natural food with a high nutritional content.
In anticipation of the first session of the Human Rights Council, the Permanent Forum recommends that indigenous issues be a standing item in the agenda of the Human Rights Council and that due attention be paid to the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. The role of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people should be maintained and further strengthened within the Human Rights Council.