With regard to paragraph 139 of the report of the Permanent Forum on its sixth session, the Forum calls upon Governments, indigenous peoples organizations, regional administrations and local self-governance organs of the countries of the Arctic region to take an active part in the discussion on the Arctic region at the eighth session of the Forum. The Forum urges the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations to give special consideration to applications from indigenous participants from the Arctic region.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Governments and United Nations agencies assign resources for communication activities, strengthen access to information and draw greater attention to the issues of indigenous peoples in the media, using various forms of media outreach, in order to complement the activities of the Department of Public Information.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States, in order to combat the adverse effects of migration, cooperate with indigenous peoples to provide employment and economic development opportunities within their territories.
The Permanent Forum decides to appoint Carlos Mamani Condori, Elisa Canqui Mollo and Pavel Sulyandziga, members of the Forum, as special rapporteurs to conduct a study, without financial implications, on indigenous peoples and corporations. The study will examine the existing mechanisms and practices, review policies on indigenous peoples, examine good practices and submit a report to the Forum at its eighth session in 2009. The Forum calls upon indigenous peoples’ representatives, States, corporations, international financial institutions and the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Compact, to engage in active cooperation with the special rapporteurs.
The Permanent Forum appreciates the invitation to participate in the Second Continental Summit of Indigenous Communication, to be held in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2013 and recommends that Forum members Saul Vicente Vazquez and Alvaro Pop attend the Summit.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the signing of the peace accord in Colombia and the efforts to implement it. The Forum takes note of Colombia’s statement at the eighteenth session of the Forum on the need to protect the lives and integrity of indigenous human rights defenders. The Forum is, however, deeply concerned that killings of indigenous leaders have been increasing. The Forum urges the Government of Colombia to intensify its efforts to provide effective measures to prevent further attacks and to ensure peace and security for indigenous human right defenders and leaders.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has analysed and discussed indigenous fishing rights in the seas on the basis of a report submitted by the Special Rapporteurs. As a result of those discussions, the Forum considers the protection of the material basis of the culture of indigenous peoples to be a part of international law that should be applied also to fishing rights in the seas, and recommends that States in which indigenous peoples live in coastal areas recognize indigenous peoples’ right to fish in the seas on the basis of historical use and international law. In that context, the Forum notes the ongoing consultations between the Government of Norway and the Sami Parliament and recommends that the Government recognize the right of the coastal Sami to fish in the seas on the basis of historical use and international law.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the initiative of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) regional office in Mexico with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the creation of a regional inter-agency group on indigenous women, and recommends continuing support for indigenous women's issues and replication of the experience in other regions of the world
Reinforce the investments in population and reproductive health which is crucial for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals - to reduce poverty, achieve universal primary education, improve maternal and child health, curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, promote gender equality, ensure sustainable development, and establish a strong partnership for development
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the Fund’s country strategic opportunities programmes as an important instrument for actively focusing on indigenous issues at the national level. The Permanent Forum recommends that IFAD construct mechanisms to secure the complementary use of the national operative planning instruments and the new institutional policy on engaging with indigenous peoples. The alignment of those instruments with the future institutional policy on indigenous issues is important for the mainstreaming of indigenous peoples’ issues within IFAD.
The Forum recognizes the efforts of the World Bank in the consultation process and the review of its policy on indigenous peoples. The members of the Forum request that the final draft policy be made available to them before its presentation to the Board of the World Bank. The members of the Forum express their great interest in reviewing the draft policy and making recommendations, as well as in meeting with the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank.
The Forum recommends that the World Bank continue dialogue and direct consultation with indigenous peoples, and that a permanent dialogue be held among indigenous peoples, the World Bank and the Forum.