The Permanent Forum emphasizes that the recognition, protection and promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources will make a significant contribution to achieving not only Goals 1 and 2, but also all the Sustainable Development Goals. In this regard, the Forum urges Governments to take all measures necessary to protect indigenous peoples’ rights to their territories and resources in the framework of the 2030 Agenda.
The Permanent Forum therefore requests the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel to support Member States in the Sahel and the Congo basin in this work, in collaboration with indigenous peoples. In general, indigenous peoples should be invited to contribute to the implementation of the mandate of the Office. Other initiatives of importance to indigenous peoples are the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel and the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative. The Permanent Forum invites the Office to attend its twenty-second session, to be held in 2023, to share information on progress in its work.
Indigenous women’s collective rights and the decolonization of State structures are essential to implementing general recommendation No. 39. The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) conduct and present a study by 2025 on the impacts of colonization on the rights of Indigenous women and girls, including within the context of the UN-Women strategy for the inclusion and visibility of Indigenous women, in collaboration with other United Nations entities. The study should identify critical action areas and strategies to advance the implementation of general recommendation No. 39.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the proposal by the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia concerning a law on free, prior and informed consent. The Forum calls for this law to be adopted and to reflect the Declaration, ensuring the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples throughout the process and promoting the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ own free, prior and informed consent protocols.