The Forum recommends that the United Nations system continue its advocacy work on indigenous connectivity in preparation for phase II of the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in 2005, taking into account the Declaration of the Global Forum of Indigenous Peoples and the Information Society and the Programme of Action. The Forum supports and applauds the decision taken by the Summit to establish multi-stakeholder portals that allow communication between indigenous peoples at the national level.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the document of the Commission of the European Communities (COM (2008)), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The European Union and the Arctic Region delivered in Brussels on 20 November 2008 and urges the European Union to begin implementing the recommendations relevant to indigenous peoples from this document.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the document of the Commission of the European Communities (COM (2008)), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The European Union and the Arctic Region delivered in Brussels on 20 November 2008 and urges the European Union to begin implementing the recommendations relevant to indigenous peoples from this document.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the dialogues to support indigenous peoples’ preparations for the United Nations Food Systems Summit. The Forum requests Member States and the secretariat of the Summit to guarantee the participation of indigenous peoples at the Summit with a view to ensuring due reflection of indigenous peoples’ rights and issues in the relevant outcome documents.
The Forum:
(a) Urges all Governments and the international community to fully apply the AKWE:KON guidelines for any proposed development on sacred sites and lands and water traditionally occupied by indigenous and local communities;
(b) Welcomes the establishment of a trust fund for the participation of indigenous and local communities in the work of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and urges Governments to provide funding to ensure an adequate level of participation by indigenous and local communities in the work of the Convention;
(c) Notes the decision by the Conference of Parties to the Convention to negotiate, within the framework of the Convention, an international regime on access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their realization, and emphasizes that such negotiations should be developed and should allow the full participation of members of the Forum and indigenous representatives to participate in the negotiations;
(d) Urges indigenous and local comunities to contribute actively to the work of the Secretariat of the Convention on the composite report on the status and trends of traditional knowledge to ensure that the report is truly reflective of the concerns of indigenous and local communities with regard to the loss of traditional knowledge of relevance to biological diversity;
(e) Recommends that the Executive Secretary of the Convention organize, in coordination with other relevant agencies, a workshop on indicators to measure progress in the objectives of the multi-year programme of work and other programmes of work, with the full participation of indigenous peoples and their organizations, in order to incorporate the necessary human and social indicators;
(f) Recommends that the Convention's ad hoc open-ended working group on article 8(j) advance its mandate to develop mechanisms for the effective sui generis systems of protection based on customary laws of indigenous peoples, especially in light of the decision of the Conference of Parties to the Convention to increase the pace in the elaboration and implementation of a proposed international regime on access and benefit-sharing.
Recognizing the emerging role of civil society and indigenous peoples in the search for creative solutions as a means of contributing to formulating, developing and implementing policies and programmes of the United Nations system, the Forum welcomes the initiative of the Secretary-General to create a high-level panel to prepare a series of recommendations on the participation of civil society in the work of the United Nations system. The Forum recommends that the Secretary-General ask the high-level panel to hold consultations and to take into account the recommendations of the Forum on the improvement of indigenous peoples’ participation in and contributions to the work of the United Nations system.
Relevant States of the Congo Basin region and the World Bank are urged to enforce, expand and respect the moratorium on the new forest concessions in order to allow time to strengthen the capacities of indigenous peoples and civil society in the Congo Basin region and to allow a participative zoning process.
The Forum recommends that the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences pay special attention to the impact of violence against indigenous women, including war-related violence and domestic violence.
Reports received by the Permanent Forum indicate that United Nations agencies, notably UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), incorporate indigenous issues into their health programming at the country and regional levels and apply culturally sensitive approaches to health delivery. The Forum encourages those agencies to share their experience in health programming for indigenous peoples with other relevant United Nations agencies working in the field.
The Permanent Forum recommends that WHO conduct a study on the health effects on indigenous peoples throughout the world caused by uranium mining, dumping of radioactive waste and nuclear testing on indigenous held lands and territories, and provide a report to the ninth session of the Forum in 2010.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the annual report of OHCHR to the Permanent Forum provide a summary of relevant reports, decisions and recommendations of the Human Rights Council, its subsidiary bodies and special procedures, as well as the universal periodic review working group, United Nations treaty bodies and other relevant United Nations reports and conferences.
In accordance with article 42 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Permanent Forum urges States to conduct an independent audit of their constitutional and other laws, policies and programmes in order to assess their consistency with the Declaration and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and to amend such laws, policies and programmes in order to remove all forms of discrimination. In particular, the Forum urges States to prioritize laws, policies and programmes that target hate speech and political and racial vilification.