The Permanent Forum reiterates that it has urged all United Nations entities and States parties to treaties concerning the environment, biodiversity and climate change to eliminate the use of the term “local communities” in conjunction with Indigenous Peoples, and to distinguish between the terms, in ongoing processes, policies and new international agreements at all levels.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States and relevant United Nations entities to strengthen and facilitate the engagement of Indigenous youth in decision-making across all United Nations processes, including the Summit of the Future.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States strengthen and implement legal and institutional frameworks that recognize and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples to their lands, territories and resources and ensure their participation in decision-making processes. Such frameworks should adhere to the Declaration and Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization, ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent when development, environment, biodiversity and climate change programmes and projects are conducted on their lands and territories.