The Permanent Forum reiterates its call at its twenty-first session for a clear distinction between Indigenous Peoples and local communities. All United Nations entities and States parties to treaties concerning the environment, biodiversity and climate are encouraged to eliminate the use of the term “local communities” in
connection with Indigenous Peoples, so that the term “Indigenous Peoples and localcommunities” would be abolished.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Secretary-General actively support the enhanced participation of indigenous peoples by participating in the General Assembly process, associated regional dialogues and meetings with the Temporary Committee for the Indigenous Coordinating Body for Enhanced Participation in the United Nations. Furthermore, the Permanent Forum urges Member States to consult with indigenous peoples nationally, regionally and internationally on enhanced participation and to provide financial support for related activities so as to ensure the full, effective, direct and meaningful participation of indigenous peoples in that process.
The Permanent Forum also recommends that WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) engage in an intersessional round table on the pandemic with Forum members to ensure that ongoing mitigation planning and efforts are uniquely adapted to the needs of indigenous peoples, including by applying intercultural approaches to health, such as those applied by PAHO in the Americas.
The Forum expresses its appreciation to the Inter-Agency Support Group for its contribution to its work during its third session and in-between sessions, as well as for the documents provided to the Forum. The Forum also expresses its appreciation for the attendance of the session by representatives of the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, renews its invitation to the United Nations system to continue to attend its sessions, and expresses the hope that this constructive engagement will continue.
The Permanent Forum instructs its secretariat transmit recommendations on lands, territories and natural resources as a contribution to:(a)The report of the Secretary-General to the sixteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development;(b)An informational document to the sixteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development on the thematic issue of land and sustainable agricultural rural development;(c)Transmit specific recommendations on water to the study of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the right to water.
The Permanent Forum encourages Member States to review recommendations made at past sessions, renew efforts at their implementation and report on progress made by 2021. It invites the United Nations system to support the States’ efforts in this regard.
The Permanent Forum recommends that a meeting additional to the pre-sessional meeting be organized in the fourth quarters of 2012 and 2013, without any budgetary implications, to discuss methods of work.
In regard to the rights of indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum reiterates its long-standing position of encouraging the United Nations, its organs and specialized agencies, as well as all States, to adopt a human rights-based approach. At the international, regional and national level, the human rights of indigenous peoples are always relevant if such rights are at risk of being undermined. Human rights are indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. They must be respected in any context specifically concerning indigenous peoples, from environment to development, to peace and security, and many other issues.