The Permanent Forum welcomes the work of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues regarding the implementation of the call to action on the theme “Building an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future with Indigenous peoples”, in an effort to revitalize the system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples. In particular, the Permanent Forum also notes the work being carried out with and by resident coordinators to raise awareness among United Nations country teams. It encourages the Inter-Agency Support Group to continue its work on strengthening the implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights frameworks at the national level and on guaranteeing the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples at the country level.
The Permanent Forum wishes to express its thanks to the Government of Nicaragua for hosting its 2012 pre-sessional meeting. The Forum also thanks the Governments of Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Canada, China, Denmark, Greenland, Norway, Spain and the United States of America for having hosted the Forum’s previous pre-sessional meetings, and the Government of the Congo for offering to host the 2013 pre-sessional meeting. The Forum requests that the secretariat organize pre-sessional meetings for future sessions of the Forum and urges all Member States that have not considered hosting pre-sessional meetings of the Forum to do so.
States Members of the United Nations and indigenous peoples must continue their constructive dialogue under the auspices of the President of the General Assembly, within the framework of the relevant decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Human Rights Council. It is also important to continue to make use of and explore ways to improve the opportunities provided through the existing formats and modalities of the Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council and various entities of the United Nations system. In that regard, the Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption by the Assembly of resolution 75/168 and the continuation of the dialogue within the context of the Forum at its twenty-first session.
The Forum notes with satisfaction the recent activation of the Trust Fund for the support of the Forum, expresses its deep appreciation and thanks to all those who contributed to it and calls upon Governments, foundations and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to give generously to the Fund.
The Permanent Forum reiterates the recommendation contained in paragraph 40 of its report on its seventeenth session, in which it recommended that the Commission on the Status of Women organize a high-level interactive dialogue on the rights of indigenous women, to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, in 2020, to review progress made towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on links to the Declaration. The Forum invites States, in cooperation with indigenous peoples’ organizations and with the support of the United Nations system, to conduct preparatory processes, with the full and effective participation of indigenous women of all ages.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the full, effective and direct representation and participation of indigenous peoples, including their indigenous governments, councils, parliaments and other political institutions, should be ensured at all United Nations forums and multilateral and bilateral negotiations, and in the drafting processes of the corresponding emerging instruments, for example, those under discussion at the World Bank, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Such instruments must be harmonized with the Declaration, which is regarded as a reflection of the minimum human rights standards necessary for the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples, nations and communities. Such instruments should be consistent with or exceed those minimum standards.
The Permanent Forum decides that Forum members Lars-Anders Baer, Bartolomé Clavero Salvador, Michael Dodson and Carsten Smith shall prepare a paper that responds to the comments made by certain Member States on the annex to the report of the Permanent Forum on its eighth session (E/2009/43) at the general segment of the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council, in July 2009.
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 reaffirms the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the normative framework for the high-level plenary meeting of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. The provisions of Assembly resolution 66/296 regarding the organization of the World Conference must be given the widest and most generous interpretation possible in order to achieve the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum requests the Office of the President of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly to maintain close communication with the Forum, through its secretariat, to facilitate the Forum’s contribution to the preparatory stages of the World Conference. The Forum also requests the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat to provide support to the secretariat of the Forum to carry out its responsibilities in this regard.
The Permanent Forum expresses thanks to the Government of Finland for hosting its pre-sessional meeting for 2020. The Forum also expresses its thanks to the Governments of Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Canada, China, the Congo, Denmark, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, the Russian Federation, Spain and the United States of America, as well as the government of Greenland, for having hosted previous pre-sessional and intersessional meetings of the Forum. The Forum recommends that States that have not yet done so consider hosting such meetings in the future. It also requests that the secretariat of the Forum organize pre-sessional meetings for future sessions of the Forum.
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.