The Permanent Forum regrets the very high incarceration rates of indigenous peoples globally, which contributes to poor health, poverty and untimely death, including in indigenous families and communities. States are reminded of their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and should therefore address this issue urgently by reducing the incarceration and eliminating the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of indigenous peoples by justice systems.
The Permanent Forum encourages parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to ensure that progress is made with regard to institutional arrangements that guarantee human rights-based approaches to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, with the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples. In addition, the Forum calls upon the Conference of Parties to request its relevant subsidiary bodies to convene an ad hoc expert group meeting, with the participation of experts of the three United Nations mechanisms on Indigenous Peoples, to address the conflation of Indigenous Peoples with other groups of society and to develop specific actions to avoid such conflation.
The Permanent Forum calls upon all member States and United Nations agencies to respond to the annual questionnaire from the secretariat of the Permanent Forum in order to provide information on reliable practices that lead to the full and effective implementation of the Declaration. Further, the Forum recommends that the secretariat of the Permanent Forum include questions that particularly focus on indigenous children and youth.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and the Escazú Agreement.
The Forum takes note of the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples following his latest visits to Chile, Colombia and Mexico. The Forum calls upon the Office of the High Commissioner to elaborate technical cooperation programmes to assist in the implementation of the recommendations.
Recalling the recommendations made in paragraphs 4 to 11 of the report on its tenth session (E/2011/43-E/C.19/2011/14 and Corr.1) and the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Permanent Forum expresses alarm regarding the contemporary application of the erroneous and discredited “doctrine of discovery” and its underlying assumptions, which promote the purported inferiority of indigenous peoples. This doctrine was applied in June 2012 by the British Columbia Court of Appeal to deny the land rights and title of the Tsilhqot’in to their traditional lands and territories by stating that “European explorers considered that by virtue of the ‘principle of discovery’ they were at liberty to claim territory in North America on behalf of their sovereigns”. The Forum strongly recommends that States, human rights bodies and judiciaries denounce the “doctrine of discovery” and discontinue its use and application.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and other relevant United Nations agencies and offices provide necessary information and training on the universal periodic review process for and with indigenous peoples.