The Forum, taking into account that indigenous children, youth and women are more vulnerable and are often physically and psychologically mistreated, and that children represent the future of indigenous peoples, recommends that the Council support the declaration of an international day or an international year of the indigenous child, to be celebrated with awareness-raising activities to honour the cultural identity of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum takes notes of the recent publication of the adolescent-friendly version of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by UNICEF, the Forum and the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus. The Forum recommends that UNICEF, Member States and indigenous peoples translate this publication into all languages, in particular indigenous languages. The Forum also recommends that Member States, indigenous peoples and others use this publication in the curricula of studies of indigenous and non-indigenous youth.
The Forum urges States and the United Nations agencies to support the attendance and participation of indigenous youth at future sessions of the Permanent Forum
The Permanent Forum recommends that the General Assembly rename the Decade “Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples”.
The Permanent Forum reiterates the call, made at its tenth session, to United Nations agencies and funds to conduct and support regional and international human rights training programmes aimed at building the capacity and advocacy skills of indigenous youth. Furthermore, the Forum recommends the use of social media, youth forums and other popular cultural forms of communication to disseminate information and training material on the rights of indigenous youth and to facilitate consultation processes at the national and international levels.
The Forum welcomes the new initiatives undertaken by UNICEF with regard to indigenous children, in particular the ongoing development of a digest on the indigenous child, as well as a number of case studies aimed at understanding development programming to fulfill the rights of indigenous children. The Forum requests UNICEF to make the digest and the results of those studies available to the Forum at its third session.
The Permanent Forum requests that UNICEF design, in partnership with other relevant United Nations agencies, a protocol for emergency situations resulting from natural disasters to ensure that, in cases of emergency, there are no violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples, especially indigenous youth, children and women, owing to forced relocation.
The Permanent Forum welcomes progress made by the funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system in continuing to implement the system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples and recommends the continuation and expansion of this work by conducting an analysis, led by the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, of the Forum’s recommendations, with the aim of identifying best practices, gaps and challenges, and by exploring ways to implement outstanding recommendations by 2021.
In support of their country-level programming, and with a view to a deeper appreciation of indigenous peoples’ perceptions of such interventions, UNICEF and UNFPA should undertake a study on the social, cultural, legal and spiritual institutions of indigenous peoples and how these affect the rights of women and children as laid out in local, regional and global frameworks.
The Permanent Forum intends to develop a working practice for its next session that will engage the Youth Caucus more actively in its work.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the results of the 2018 High-level Expert Seminar on Indigenous Food Systems, in particular the creation of an online global hub on indigenous food systems, and would like to recommend that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continue work on: (a) Indigenous young people towards the creation of a forum on indigenous young people in the coming years; (b) Indigenous food systems, in particular in relation to the links with traditional knowledge, climate change and the respect of indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, territories and resources; (c) Indigenous women (the global campaign on indigenous women and the leadership and food security schools for indigenous women).
The Forum on Indigenous Issues is deeply concerned that particular problems and discrimination are faced by indigenous children and youth, including in the areas of education, health, culture, extreme poverty, mortality, sexual exploitation, militarization, displacement, incarceration, labour and others