The Permanent Forum demands that WIPO recognize and respect the applicability and relevance of the Declaration as a significant international human rights instrument that must inform the Intergovernmental Committee process and the overall work of WIPO. The minimum standards reflected in the Declaration must either be exceeded or directly incorporated into any and all WIPO instruments that directly or indirectly impact the human rights of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum further urges the General Assembly to proclaim an international year of the world’s indigenous children and youth.
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 Permanent Forum welcomes the World Intellectual Property Organization facilitating a process, in accordance with the Declaration, to engage with indigenous peoples on matters including intellectual property, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore.
Celebrating 22 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the first legally binding international instrument affirming human rights for all children, the Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption of the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, enabling individual claims and the use of the examination process, and urges States to accede to this important instrument regarding children in the most vulnerable situations, many of whom are indigenous, to allow them access to recourse and redress.