The Permanent Forum welcomes the decision by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization to establish a mechanism for the participation of Indigenous Peoples. The Forum recommends that States members of the Treaty Organization guarantee the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in all processes with a view to developing the operational structure of the mechanism. The Forum invites the Treaty Organization to present a progress report at the next session of the Forum in 2025. The Forum welcomes the opportunity to provide its expertise to the Treaty Organization.
Given that the United Nations relies on the cooperation of the people whom it serves and that everyone, individually and in association with others, has the right to unhindered access to and communication with the Organization, the Permanent Forum requests the Secretary-General, through the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and in consultation with other relevant United Nations mechanisms, to report on trends related to intimidation and reprisals against indigenous peoples who seek to engage with the United Nations, including by providing suggestions to prevent and address reprisals through reporting from all parts of the United Nations system and with input from indigenous peoples, to the Forum at its eighteenth session, in 2019.
The Permanent Forum requests FAO to enhance the participation of indigenous peoples and representatives from the Forum in the work of the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Forestry, the Committee on Fisheries, the Committee on World Food Security and the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the existence of gender-diverse Indigenous Peoples, including two-spirit peoples, worldwide, and calls upon the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples to ensure that two -spirit Indigenous Peoples are not prevented from participating in United Nations processes.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States strengthen and implement legal and institutional frameworks that recognize and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples to their lands, territories and resources and ensure their participation in decision-making processes. Such frameworks should adhere to the Declaration and Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization, ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent when development, environment, biodiversity and climate change programmes and projects are conducted on their lands and territories.
The Permanent Forum recalls that in paragraph 7 of its report on its tenth session (E/2011/43-E/C.19/2011/14), it congratulated the International Fund for Agricultural Development on the establishment of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum as an example of good practice that should be followed by other United Nations entities. The Forum urges other United Nations entities to report on their progress achieved in this regard to the Forum at its seventeenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the World Bank strengthen platforms for dialogue with Indigenous Peoples at all levels to create strategic opportunities that will give a voice to Indigenous Peoples’ priorities and concerns. The Forum further calls upon the World Bank to enhance and expand direct financing mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples, specifically linking these to national programmes, policy dialogue, and investments for sustainability in all ecosystems.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States in the region enhance the protection of Indigenous Peoples through recognition and autonomy, in line with the Declaration, by revising legal and policy frameworks. Governments should rectify the injustices of the colonial past, taking into consideration Indigenous Peoples and their perspectives, in particular those of Indigenous youth, ensuring the participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision-making.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the General Assembly conduct a highlevel meeting in September 2027 to evaluate the implementation of the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with the enhanced participation of Indigenous Peoples as a key deliverable of the event. The Forum advocates for the support of Indigenous Peoples’ preparatory efforts for that event by ensuring their full and effective participation and funding from Member States and the private sector.
The Permanent Forum notes the challenges of accreditation of indigenous peoples’ representative institutions. The Forum recommends that selection criteria for accreditation be developed by indigenous peoples to be applied by a committee that comprises representatives of States and indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the approval of the approach to recognizing and working with indigenous and local knowledge adopted at the fifth plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, in 2017, and the establishment of a participatory mechanism for indigenous peoples and local communities in the work of the Platform. The Forum urges the identification of procedures and methodologies for effective implementation of the approach and the participatory mechanism, in partnership with indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the Security Council to address conflicts on Indigenous lands and territories in its meetings under the peace and security agenda, with the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples.