With reference to article 42 of the United Nations Declaration, the Permanent Forum invites African States, in particular Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Nigeria and Rwanda, to present, at its sixteenth session, information on the situation of indigenous peoples affected by conflict in those countries.
The Permanent Forum recommends that relevant States recognize indigenous peoples’ right to prior, free and informed consent and provide support mechanisms for involuntarily displaced indigenous peoples to be able to return to their original communities, including appropriate forms of repatriation, compensation and restitution and provision for the sustainable livelihoods of those peoples.
The Permanent Forum hails the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the General Assembly. The 13th of September 2007 is a historic day for the United Nations, indigenous peoples and States and marks the beginning of a new era of renewed partnerships for the promotion and protection of the human rights of all indigenous peoples and each indigenous person around the world. The Forum notes its new responsibility under the Declaration and pledges its commitment to making it a living document throughout its work. The Forum thus invites the international community as a whole, States, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academia and the media to promote the Declaration and apply it in their policies and programmes for the improvement of indigenous peoples’ well-being around the world
The Permanent Forum recommends that relevant United Nations agencies dealing with indigenous peoples’ issues should take action on the inclusion of indigenous persons with disabilities in all their activities, make their websites accessible to persons with disabilities, promote the increased participation of indigenous persons with disabilities in their annual sessions and consider having expert sessions on indigenous persons with disabilities.
The Permanent Forum also calls upon Member States to adopt effective measures to create a sustainable language environment by using information technologies and educational systems and by documenting and monitoring indigenous/native languages and using these languages in public spheres.
The Forum recommends that the Economic and Social Council, the relevant United Nations cooperating agencies and Governments of the region provide technical facilities and grant the necessary political and moral support for organizing:
(a) The Fourth Continental Summit of Indigenous Women of the Americas, to be held in Lima in March 2004;
(b) The Second Continental Conference of Indigenous Women of Africa, to be held in Nairobi, 2003;
(c) The Second Conference of Asian Indigenous Women, to be held in 2004.
Foster the training of indigenous women in order to gain leadership skills to become community advocates and defenders for indigenous women's rights to achieve gender equity
The Permanent Forum notes the initiative of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) to develop a new health plan for indigenous youth in Latin America and invites PAHO/WHO to report on progress achieved in implementing the plan to the Forum at its seventeenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and Member States organize a regional consultation with indigenous organizations and interested donors to develop a more coordinated, sustainable and longer-term programme in the region which has as its principal objective the strengthening of indigenous organizations so as to ensure that they have the technical capacity to engage with Governments and the international community on human rights.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues requests the Coordinator of the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People to submit a report to the Permanent Forum at its annual sessions regarding progress on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (A/60/270, sect. II) and invites States, the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations, and indigenous peoples and other non-governmental organizations to provide information to the Coordinator.
The Permanent Forum highlights the continued misappropriation and illicit use of indigenous peoples’ intellectual property and cultural heritage by enterprises and individuals that use it for their own vested interests or benefits. The Permanent Forum stresses that the intellectual property rights held by indigenous peoples, including with regard to data and knowledge, should not be exploited or be taken by private companies and individuals without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned. The principle of free, prior and informed consent and the stringent application of relevant safeguards and policies promulgated by United Nations system entities also applies to intellectual property rights in the context of industrial, forestry, mining and other projects conducted on indigenous peoples’ lands and territories. This also applies to relevant international instruments, such as the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Permanent Forum urges the Government of Kenya to implement the recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the rights of Endorois to the ownership of their ancestral lands, to the restitution thereof and to compensation in that connection.