The Forum congratulates the United Nations Development Program for convening a productive session of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues in September 2004, welcomes the expanding membership of the Inter-Agency Support Group and encourages other intergovernmental entities to join the Group, and encourages the Group to continue the practice of the participation of members of the Permanent Forum
The Permanent Forum welcomes the Regional Initiative on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Development of UNDP and, in particular, the pilot projects on gathering disaggregated data in the Philippines and Nepal. The Permanent Forum also recommends that the Regional Indigenous Peoples’ Programme continue this work in other countries.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Saramaka People vs. Suriname (28 November 2007), which aptly applies the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum urges the Working Group of the Organization of American States, which is elaborating the draft American declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, to consider the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the minimum standard.
Climate change and environmental issues are a major threat to indigenous peoples. The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to use, maintain and control their lands, territories and resources, and develop mechanisms for their inclusion in relevant decision-making processes. The Forum calls upon States to cooperate with indigenous peoples and consider their traditional knowledge in environmental impact assessment procedures and in local, regional and national development plans. The Forum also recommends that States implement inclusive environmental and land management policies, in line with the Declaration.
The Forum urges the United Nations Secretariat to protect the privileges and immunities of members of the Forum and recommends that immediate action be taken to address any reported incidents.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the participation at its sixth session of indigenous parliamentarians from, inter alia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Greenland, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and encourages indigenous parliamentarians to continue participating at future sessions in their own capacity, with designated seating arrangements.
The Forum invites the World Health Organization, as lead agency on Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, and 6 with UNDP, the World Intellectual Property Organization and other relevant agencies and States, to partner with the Forum to organize, host and report to the Forum at its next session on methods, processes and best practices of integrating indigenous traditional knowledge, medicine, healing and other health practices in mainstream health-care systems and sensitizing health personnel concerning the protection of indigenous knowledge systems
The Permanent Forum calls on Canada and the United States of America to develop national action plans to realize the aims of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and appoint an ambassador or special envoy on global indigenous affairs to promote the rights of indigenous peoples globally, including on participation.