The Permanent Forum encourages States to continue cooperating with indigenous peoples to develop fair, transparent and effective mechanisms for the repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains, at the national and international levels.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues convene a technical workshop on indicators, in collaboration with the United Nations organizations dealing with this issue, with the participation of indigenous experts, with a view to promoting a collaborative, complementary and holistic approach to indicators in order to enhance understanding of indigenous concerns and their possible solution, and requests the workshop to submit its report to the Permanent Forum at its sixth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that all States work in equal partnership with indigenous peoples to develop, implement and evaluate indicators on well-being that provide an overview of the social and economic status of indigenous peoples within a holistic, integrated framework. The Forum also recommends that States invest adequate resources, in accordance with their human rights obligations, to address the indigenous social and economic needs identified by the indicator framework.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States include ethnic identification in vital statistics and health records, allocate more funding for intercultural services that ensure indigenous women’s access to quality health care, including emergency obstetric care, voluntary family planning and skilled attendants at delivery, and that the role of traditional midwives be strengthened and extended.
Considering the effects of globalization and the need for indigenous peoples to participate in the global economy to promote their development, the Forum recommends that the Economic and Social Council invite the World Trade Organization to participate in its third session.
The Permanent Forum supports the willingness of IFAD to consider continuing to operate the World Bank’s Grants Facility for Indigenous Peoples. It recommends that IFAD make every effort to substantially enhance this Facility through its own grant funding mechanism as well as through seeking the contributions of other international financial institutions as well as bilateral and multilateral donors.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States, the World Bank and other multilateral and bilateral financial institutions consider alternative systems beyond the perpetuation of highly centralized fossil fuel-based energy supplies and large-scale bioenergy and hydropower dams and increase their support for renewable, low-carbon and decentralized systems, taking into account the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams. States should abandon old centralized electricity grids, which are not suitable for the challenges of climate change.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the specialist group on indigenous peoples, customary and environmental law and human rights within the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy of the International Union for Conservation of Nature host a series of regional meetings to discuss the development of standards for the conservation of indigenous peoples’ lands and waters by 2020, together with indigenous peoples, NGOs and other stakeholders, in consultation with the Forum, United Nations special rapporteurs and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Forum reiterates the recommendations contained in its report on its second session and strongly advises positive consideration to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and UNAIDS joining the Inter-Agency Support Group
The Permanent Forum encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ILO and UNDP to strengthen their collaborative framework and partnership for the promotion and implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights through joint country programmes aimed at building capacity and establishing mechanisms for consultation, participation and consent in accordance with ILO Convention C169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Given the importance of the full range of the human rights of indigenous peoples, including traditional knowledge, culturally appropriate procedures to ensure communication, information, and scheduling, the Permanent Forum calls on all United Nations agencies and intergovernmental agencies to implement policies, procedures and mechanisms that ensure the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent consistent with their right to self-determination as reflected in common article 1 of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which makes reference to permanent sovereignty over natural resources.
Mindful of the human rights violations experienced by indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum encourages States, in particular those in the Pacific region, to recognize and implement the basic fundamental human rights articulated in the Declaration, particularly the right to self-determination.