The Permanent Forum welcomes the effort of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to establish a regional human rights mechanism and offers its expertise and cooperation in this matter. The Forum recommends that the mechanism be called the “ASEAN Human Rights Commission” and that the commission explicitly recognize indigenous peoples in its terms of reference. We look forward to a strong commission with full investigatory and implementation powers, which uses the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as its framework in dealing with indigenous peoples’ issues. The Forum also recommends that the commission establish a committee on indigenous peoples in addition to its proposed committees on migrant workers and women and children.
Climate change and environmental issues are a major threat to indigenous peoples. The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to use, maintain and control their lands, territories and resources, and develop mechanisms for their inclusion in relevant decision-making processes. The Forum calls upon States to cooperate with indigenous peoples and consider their traditional knowledge in environmental impact assessment procedures and in local, regional and national development plans. The Forum also recommends that States implement inclusive environmental and land management policies, in line with the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum recommends that national human rights institutions and commissions address indigenous peoples’ issues and include indigenous experts as members of such bodies.
To meet the major challenges facing indigenous peoples in Africa, the Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations system and other entities with expertise on indigenous peoples’ issues in the African region support the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples.
The Forum recommends that the United Nations and Member States recognize the cultural rights of indigenous peoples which include the rights to organize oneself freely and to administer one’s own cultural, sports, social and religious institutions. For this purpose, the Forum encourages the United Nations and the relevant specialized agencies to consider establishing an international centre for multicultural and multiracial studies.