The Permanent Forum welcomes the interest of the Governments of Botswana and the Congo in supporting the rights of indigenous peoples in the region, including the World Conference process, and encourages other African Governments to follow this good practice. The Forum welcomes the willingness of Simon William M’Viboudoulou to assist in the preparation and successful hosting of these meetings.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the accreditation, including of indigenous nations, councils, parliaments and Governments, as well as traditional governments, for the preparatory conferences and the World Conference reflect the principle of full and effective and direct participation of indigenous peoples, as set forth in articles 18 and 41 of the Declaration, building upon the established practice of accreditation and inclusive participation followed in other United Nations processes related to indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and Member States organize a regional consultation with indigenous organizations and interested donors to develop a more coordinated, sustainable and longer-term programme in the region which has as its principal objective the strengthening of indigenous organizations so as to ensure that they have the technical capacity to engage with Governments and the international community on human rights.
The Permanent Forum welcomes that, as of 3 November 2022, the term “Indigenous Peoples” is capitalized in the United Nations Editorial Manual. That update was made in accordance with an agreement made among the Member States when negotiating General Assembly resolution 77/203. The Permanent Forum urges that translation in all official languages of the United Nations reflect that update to the Editorial Manual.