The Forum recognizes that: (a) Gender equality has a central role in development policy with a focus on poverty reduction, human rights and the Millennium Development Goals, in particular, economic, social, sexual and reproductive health and rights, including good governance and democratic institutions, and to the creation of a world where people live free from fear and want, in dignity and peace; (b) The elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education requires an improvement in access, continuity, quality, and management of women's education at all levels with cultural relevance
The Permanent Forum recognizes that land conflict is a controversial issue and encourages Member States and indigenous peoples to continue dialogue to find common solutions.
Taking into account the Secretary-General’s recommendation to make the twenty-first century "The age of prevention", the wish of the Forum to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and feed into the 10-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action process, the complex cross-cutting nature of issues facing United Nations bodies in formulating appropriate policies, programmes and projects to address the problems of indigenous and tribal communities, and the strong recommendations by indigenous peoples that such policies, programmes and projects should be based on a holistic approach befitting their spiritual values and way of life, the Permanent Forum decides to organize its work for 2005 and onwards around cross-cutting themes that relate directly to the Millennium Development Goals, while considering all the mandated areas of the Permanent Forum.
The Permanent Forum reiterates the importance of preparatory processes at all levels for bringing different perspectives to the World Conference and building a spirit of partnership, inclusion and respect, and calls upon Member States, indigenous peoples and United Nations organizations, funds and programmes to work together at the national, regional and international levels.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the preparation by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean of the study entitled “Rights of indigenous peoples: achievements and challenges in the Latin American countries”, and encourages other regional commissions to undertake similar studies.
The Permanent Forum urges States, United Nations agencies and indigenous peoples’ organizations to collaborate with UN-Habitat and other United Nations agencies in their development of policy guidelines for local authorities on urban indigenous issues.
The Permanent Forum commends UNICEF and UNFPA for their work to combat female genital mutilation practices and urges them to continue their efforts with indigenous peoples and their communities.
The Permanent Forum urges the World Food Programme to respect the habitual diet of indigenous peoples and to avoid the introduction of foreign foods of low nutritional quality in indigenous peoples’ communities. Furthermore, the Permanent Forum urges the World Food Programme to ensure that its methods of intervention are sensitive to indigenous peoples’ social fabric and respectful of their perceptions of the humanitarian-development nexus.
The Permanent Forum encourages Member States to ensure a stronger presence and stronger participation during all meetings organized by the Permanent Forum and the Secretariat.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues welcomes the report of the international expert group meeting on the theme “Truth, transitional justice and reconciliation processes” (E/C.19/2023/3). The Permanent Forum endorses the recommendations in the report urging Member States to include Indigenous representatives and leaders in all transitional justice institutions and conflict prevention initiatives and to develop training programmes on human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights for concerned government agencies. It recommends that the Human Rights Council request that OHCHR, in cooperation with relevant United Nations entities, prepare a companion report by 2025 related to the guidance note of the Secretary-General on the United Nations approach to transitional justice.
The dialogue highlighted the challenges Indigenous Peoples from Africa face in participating in United Nations meetings, including logistical obstacles in obtaining visas and a lack of financial resources. The Permanent Forum invites African States to contribute to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples and called for common efforts to facilitate visa processes in order to ensure the participation of African Indigenous Peoples, including women and youth.