The Permanent Forum urges all agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system to incorporate the recognition of the collective rights of indigenous peoples to lands, territories and resources into their policies and programmes at the country level and to report to the Forum on progress made at its eighteenth session.
The Forum invites the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, within the purview of his mandate, to pay special attention to and make recommendations concerning the rights of indigenous children.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Envoy of the Secretary-General on Youth, in cooperation with indigenous young people, urgently address self-harm and suicide among indigenous young people and invites him to inform the Forum on progress in that regard at its fifteenth session.
The Permanent Forum expresses concern for the state of the world’s indigenous languages. It is estimated that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 oral languages in the world today, most of them spoken by very few individuals. The Forum recommends the adoption of a rights-based approach towards indigenous language issues that considers the full spectrum of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Declaration. The Forum also recommends that Member States, the United Nations system, indigenous peoples’ organizations and other stakeholders share initiatives and strategies undertaken for, with and by indigenous peoples in order to recover, use and revitalize indigenous languages, including through the use of information and communication technologies.
The Permanent Forum recommends that UNFPA continue its work in support of the participation of indigenous women in regional and national consultations, including training and other capacity-building programmes
Establish a fund for indigenous women to support capacity-building and their participation in meetings at the international, regional and national levels
The impact of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals on indigenous peoples should be assessed and reported in Millennium Development Goals country reports and other relevant reports by States and the United Nations system. Progressive assessment of the situation of indigenous peoples in the process of implementation of the Millennium Development Goals should be reflected in the Millennium Development Goals country reports. Guidelines for the preparation of the Millennium Development Goals reports should be refined to ensure that the coverage of the poverty situation of indigenous peoples is integrated. The Millennium Development Goals country reports should be prepared, where relevant, with the full participation of indigenous peoples.
Bearing in mind that the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was named at a time when the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples had not yet been adopted, and considering that the title of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples was changed, two years ago, from its previous title of “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people”, we strongly urge the Economic and Social Council to recommend that the name of the Forum be changed to “Permanent Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the ratification on 15 April 2021 by the Bundestag of Germany of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and reiterates its recommendation to all Member States that have not ratified said Convention to do so as early as possible.
The Permanent Forum expresses its readiness to examine existing practices and
ways of developing various forms of administrative and territorial autonomy for
indigenous peoples’ communities whose representatives lead a traditional, nomadic
way of life, as part of the development of the guiding principles on indigenous
peoples’ autonomy and self-government as recommended in the study on indigenous
peoples’ autonomies: experiences and perspectives (E/C.19/2020/5). Such work will
be conducted by an online working group of the Permanent Forum. Indigenous
peoples’ organizations, representative decision-making bodies and institutions,
together with United Nations system entities, Member States and other stakeholders,
are invited to contribute financially and practically and to take an active part in the
work of the working group.
The Permanent Forum welcomes and endorses general recommendation No. 39 (2022) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Recommendation No. 39 provides critical guidance to States parties on legislative, policy and other relevant measures to ensure the implementation of their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, while taking into account the rights of Indigenous women and girls derived from specific instruments for the protection of Indigenous Peoples, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 169. The Permanent Forum calls upon Member States that have not yet done so to ratify without delay the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and ILO Convention No. 169.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States to make significant investments in bilingual and culturally appropriate primary, secondary and higher education programmes, including mobile education initiatives for nomadic, semi-nomadic and mobile communities. Furthermore, the Forum calls upon Member States to establish effective mechanisms to ensure Indigenous youth occupy central roles in policy and political arenas and to break down barriers to their full political participation and leadership.