The Permanent Forum confirms its commitment to making indigenous children and youth an ongoing part of its work. In so doing, it acknowledges the efforts made by organizations representing indigenous peoples, United Nations bodies and States to address the urgent needs of indigenous children and youth, including in the areas of education, health, culture, extreme poverty, mortality, sexual exploitation, militarization, displacement, removal by missionaries, incarceration and labour, among others.
Recalling the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur appointed to undertake a study on the status of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 (E/C.19/2011/6, sect. VIII), the Forum encourages the Government of Bangladesh:
(a) To set a time frame for the full implementation of the Accord, including devolution of authority to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council and three Hill District Councils;
(b) To adopt the rules of business for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Commission and allocate sufficient human and financial resources for the Commission.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the launch of the publication Global Indigenous Youth: Through their Eyes by the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University. The Forum recommends that international organizations, indigenous youth organizations, academia and other stakeholders undertake similar initiatives to raise awareness on the challenges facing indigenous young people.
UNICEF should consider developing projects to benefit indigenous children in developed countries as required, taking into consideration that many indigenous children in such countries, mainly those living in rural areas, face the same problems as indigenous children in developing countries.
Indigenous Peoples are affected also by the legacy of forced evictions and relocations owing to the establishment by colonial powers of military bases and installations on their traditional lands and territories. The Permanent Forum recommends that colonial States, past and present, ensure remedy and reparations for the affected Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the Economic and Social Council, including its youth forum, the high-level political forum on sustainable development, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission for Social Development, as well as other relevant United Nations forums, to include representatives of indigenous youth-led organizations in their meetings.