The Permanent Forum notes that representatives of extractive industries, although invited, were unable to attend the International Expert Workshop on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, Corporate Accountability and the Extractive Industries, held in Manila from 27 to 29 March 2009. The Forum also notes that the International Council on Mining and Metals is in the process of developing a set of voluntary guidelines for the industry for engagement with indigenous peoples. The Forum invites the Council at the conclusion of the development of the guidelines to forward a copy to the secretariat of the Permanent Forum. The Forum decides to forward a copy of the report of the International Expert Workshop to the International Council on Mining and Metals.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Population Fund organize, in coordination with the secretariat of the Forum an international expert workshop on the theme “Indigenous peoples and health, with special emphasis on sexual and reproductive health”, and that a report of the expert workshop be submitted to the Forum at its ninth session, in 2010.
The Permanent Forum observes that UNDP projects focused on indigenous peoples’ issues are few in number and dispersed, and constitute a very small fraction in the overall UNDP portfolio. This is a serious concern, as indigenous peoples are lagging behind in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and continue to face marginalization and exclusion. The Permanent Forum therefore recommends that UNDP allocate additional resources for projects that are focused on indigenous peoples’ issues and rights, including strengthening the regional programme in Asia and establishing new regional programmes in Latin America and Africa.