The Permanent Forum encourages States, multilateral environmental agencies and other conservation agencies to adopt a rights-based approach to conservation and follow-up and to systematically evaluate how the rights are implemented.
The Forum, noting the future mandate of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore to be considered by the Committee at its session to be held in July 2003, expresses the wish that the mandate of the Committee should have as its clear objective the continued development of mechanisms, systems and tools that adequately protect the genetic resources, traditional knowledge and expressions of culture of indigenous peoples at the national, regional and international levels. The Forum affirms its willingness to contribute its expertise and experience to the work of the Committee and to play a consultative role in assisting mechanisms that may be established by member States of WIPO, and urges the Committee to assist two Forum members in participating systematically and effectively in the process by establishing a special fund.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the Arctic States to provide financial resources to indigenous peoples of the Arctic for the purpose of building a partnership to enable them to adapt to climate change.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the right to participate in decision-making and the importance of mechanisms and procedures for the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in relation to article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Forum reiterates that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Maritime Organization should facilitate indigenous peoples’ participation in their processes.
The Permanent Forum calls on States to ensure that indigenous peoples that are undertaking their own mitigation measures are provided with policy support, technical assistance, funding and capacity-building in order to deepen their knowledge on climate change and to allow them to implement more effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. They should gain benefits from the environmental services derived from their territories and resources. Processes and mechanisms for the valuation of these environmental services, and methods that allow them to get adequate benefits, should be developed jointly with them. Efforts to create better documentation of good practices in mitigation and adaptation and to replicate and upscale these practices should likewise be supported.
The Permanent Forum is concerned that the WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities is depleted, and emphasizes the critical importance of the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the negotiations of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore in accordance with article 41 of the Declaration. To that end, the Forum strongly encourages the Member States of WIPO to contribute to the WIPO Voluntary Fund and invites them to explore and identify innovative ways of raising funds for the Fund, including through use of the regular budget of WIPO. The Forum also recommends that WIPO increase the number of indigenous participants through the regular budget and allow their full and effective participation in the negotiations.
Good practices are emerging that complement public health services with traditional health practices. These practices emphasize intercultural dialogue and discussion to ensure that health care is delivered in a culturally specific way, consistent with articles 23 and 24 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These practices should be supported and promoted.
The Permanent Forum reiterates that indigenous peoples should report to the Forum on how they are implementing the Declaration in their own communities, thereby contributing to the growing evidence of how the principles enshrined in the Declaration are being practised.
Consistent with article 7 of the United Nations Declaration, the Permanent Forum recommends that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights urgently establish an independent international commission to investigate the assassination of Berta Cáceres and Nelson Garcia of the Lenca people of Honduras.
The Permanent Forum invites the Chairman of the Special Committee to report on the decolonization process within the Pacific region to the Forum at its eighth session in 2009.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity recognize the rights of indigenous peoples over the biological and genetic resources of their own territories.
The Forum urges the United Nations system and States to give special priority to implementing previous recommendations made by the Forum, and to take into account the cross-cutting nature of human rights issues.