The Permanent Forum regrets the outcome and impact of the “Indigenous Voice” referendum on Indigenous Peoples, in particular Indigenous youth, held in Australia in 2023, which undermines their journey towards the full realization of the right to self-determination for Indigenous Peoples. The Forum urges the Government of Australia to implement the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum is deeply concerned about circumstances in which Indigenous Peoples are deprived of essential services and experience violence, including gender-based violence. The Forum urges Member States and United Nations entities to protect displaced Indigenous Peoples, including refugees, and calls upon the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to conduct global and regional studies, by 2026, on the needs of displaced Indigenous Peoples and to update the Forum at its 2025 session. Furthermore, the Forum urges UNHCR to join the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues.
The Permanent Forum heard that industrial companies and authorities in the Russian Federation promoted certain “authorized bodies of Indigenous Peoples”, which in reality were run by State representatives claiming that only these organizations had the right to negotiate on behalf of Indigenous Peoples. In this regard, the Forum proposes that the Government of the Russian Federation revise the federal law on guarantees of the rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation.