The Forum, noting that work will commence shortly on a convention of cultural diversity, requests Member States to work with representatives of indigenous peoples to UNESCO to develop a document that adequately protects indigenous cultural heritage.
The Permanent Forum calls upon WIPO to strengthen its efforts to reach out to indigenous peoples and to continue to provide practical assistance and capacity-strengthening for and in cooperation with indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the evaluation report on action by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to revitalize and promote indigenous languages, within the framework of the International Year of Indigenous Languages. According to the report, which was adopted by the Executive Board of UNESCO, UNESCO and the global task force should adopt lessons learned and the recommendations contained therein during the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, including by developing a road map with clear, measurable and time-bound activities and results. The Forum welcomes the inclusion of indigenous experts in indigenous language revitalization in the coordinating team of UNESCO for the International Decade and stresses the continuing need for such experts in the future. With a view to enhancing the global accessibility of all relevant information pertaining to the Decade, the use of the six official languages of the United Nations is crucial.
The Permanent Forum recommends that international financial institutions unequivocally acknowledge the collective right of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources in their safeguard policies and in all development project contexts (not merely in exceptional circumstances). Banks should not support any projects that affect indigenous peoples without prior recognition of and effective guarantees for their collective rights to own, control and manage their lands, territories and resources.
The Permanent Forum urges States with indigenous peoples whose livelihoods and cultures are based upon sea, river and lake fisheries to recognize fishing rights that will build solid foundations for securing and developing local indigenous communities and their cultures.
The Forum recommends that the agencies and bodies of the United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund rethink the concept of development, with the full participation of indigenous peoples in development processes, taking into account the rights of indigenous peoples and the practices of their traditional knowledge.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges IFAD for the implementation of its policy on indigenous peoples and for selecting “Indigenous peoples’ food systems and sustainable livelihoods” as the theme of the second global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD. The Forum expects that IFAD will continue to strengthen its engagement with indigenous peoples in its future work by ensuring engagement at the country level through targeted programmes, capacity-building for indigenous peoples and project staff and the development of specific indicators on the well-being of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum calls on States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and principles of sustainability and to call on transnational corporations to respect those standards. This applies particularly to highly industrialized States and the transnational corporations that engage in development activities in those States.
The Forum invites the secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to its third session for an
exchange of views on important issues of common interest.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Union for Conservation of Nature actively engage with indigenous organizations, relevant United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations and other actors to develop a set of actions and commitments in relation to conservation and human rights in the context of the post-2020 biodiversity framework and the next World Conservation Congress.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiatives of national human rights institutions, such as those from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and encourages other human rights institutions to conduct national inquiries on the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources.
Affirmation of the status of indigenous peoples as “peoples” is important in fully respecting and protecting their human rights. Consistent with its 2010 report (E/2010/43-E/C.19/2010/15), the Permanent Forum calls upon the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and especially including the Nagoya Protocol, to adopt the terminology “indigenous peoples and local communities” as an accurate reflection of the distinct identities developed by those entities since the adoption of the Convention almost 20 years ago