The Forum recommends that the national commissions of UNESCO work closely with indigenous experts and representatives with expertise in education, science, culture and communication to increase the participation of indigenous peoples in the activities of UNESCO.
The Permanent Forum is concerned about the reduction in indigenous-specific funding for programmes and projects by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, for example the depletion of resources of the voluntary fund of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for accredited indigenous peoples and local community observers. The Forum recommends that such United Nations entities ensure substantial funding to support targeted programmes and projects for indigenous peoples consistent with article 41 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Forum recommends that Member States adopt legislation acknowledging that the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples is their inalienable cultural heritage and embodies their cultural identity and that they make available such legislation and information in local indigenous languages.
The Permanent Forum takes note of the report submitted by the International Indian Treaty Council and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on the three-year field-testing programme for the cultural indicators for food security, food sovereignty and sustainable development, which included the input of more than 450 indigenous representatives from 66 indigenous communities and peoples in five countries. The Forum recognizes the importance of such collaborative programmes undertaken jointly by United Nations agencies and indigenous peoples, and calls upon members of the Inter-Agency Support Group and Member States and agencies to develop and apply the cultural indicators in accordance with their mandates, in collaboration with indigenous peoples.
The Forum welcomes UNDP’s contribution to the Forum and its support of the establishment of a working group on free, prior and informed consent and of the initiative to develop a land rights policy. The Forum also recognizes the key role UNDP can play in data collection and disaggregation through its national human development reports and the Millennium Development Goals reports. The Forum also recognizes that the Goals can provide an overall framework for furthering indigenous peoples’ development.
Recalling its recommendations made at its first, sixth and ninth sessions that called for publication of the report entitled “State of the world’s indigenous peoples”, the Permanent Forum requests the Department of Economic and Social Affairs to continue its publication of the document on a quadrennial basis.
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 Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations system ensure the inclusion and meaningful participation of indigenous peoples in all processes relating to the elaboration of the sustainable development goals. In this regard, the Forum recommends that indigenous peoples and their organizations and representatives participate in the dialogues between Member States and civil society during meetings of the Group.
The Permanent Forum recommends that FAO, in coordination with indigenous peoples, organize training and other capacity-building development, as well as establish mechanisms for engagement such as working groups and appropriate representation of indigenous peoples in relevant instruments and bodies of FAO, and provide a progress report on those activities to the Forum at its fifteenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the International Council on Mining and Metals provide a list of and invite members of the Forum, members of affected indigenous peoples and indigenous experts to visit the project sites for the purpose of reporting back to the Forum at its tenth session.
The Permanent Forum calls on all United Nations agencies and States to support the reclamation of traditional practices and laws leading to global solutions to climate change.
The Forum calls on the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to continue its support to the national indigenous peoples biodiversity participatory mechanisms of the small island developing States through the Convention's island and biodiversity project and indigenous peoples program, in the promotion of sustainable biodiversity