The Permanent Forum recommends that States, in collaboration with indigenous peoples and United Nations agencies, including UNICEF and UNESCO, prepare a comprehensive report on the number of indigenous languages spoken in each State. It is important to identify the current numbers and ages of fluent speakers of each indigenous language, in addition to measures, including constitutional, legislative, regulatory and policy measures, as well as financial support, whether ongoing or project-based, by States, United Nations agencies and indigenous peoples, to ensure that indigenous languages continue to be used, survive and thrive and do not become extinct.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the work undertaken by indigenous peoples in the regional and thematic caucus preparatory meetings and the Indigenous Global Coordinating Group drafting group and looks forward to the forthcoming recommendations of the Global Preparatory Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be held in Alta, Norway, from 10 to
12 June 2013, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the regional preparatory meetings and their respective contributions to the outcome document of the World Conference. All conclusions and recommendations that arise from those activities must be taken into consideration in the decision-making relating to the World Conference itself. The Forum wishes to draw attention to the collective objective of ensuring an informal hearing, interactive round tables, panel discussions and the adoption of an action-oriented outcome document of the Conference.