On the basis of information received at the ninth session, the Permanent Forum expresses its deep concern about the changes in policy on bilingual education in the Northern Territory, Australia. The Forum urges the Government of Australia to work with its State and territory education systems to develop models of bilingual, intercultural and multilingual education that are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the International Finance Corporation establish a mechanism of engagement with indigenous peoples in the context of its sustainability framework, including Performance Standard 7, on indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum supports collaborations between indigenous groups and conservation organizations that bring together traditional and scientific knowledge holders to add the wealth of current and historical knowledge of indigenous peoples to the analysis of impacts of climate change and to mitigation solutions and adaptation strategies — recognizing and respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the provisions of article 8 (j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Forum urges WHO to engage in a global consultation with indigenous peoples and others on its participatory research guidelines and seek the advice of the Permanent Forum on the guidelines.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the global Stop TB Partnership, which is housed within the World Health Organization (WHO). It urges the Partnership to ensure that indigenous peoples’ concerns are fully included and that they participate in the decision-making body in implementing programmes and projects.
The Permanent Forum urges OHCHR in the Plurinational State of Bolivia to continue and strengthen its monitoring of the human rights of the Guaraní people to address as a matter of urgency the situation of the families and communities that are subjected to forced labour and other forms of servitude and to report regularly and publicly on developments in that situation. In the area of technical assistance, the Permanent Forum urges OHCHR in the Plurinational State of Bolivia to strengthen the human rights capacities of the Guaraní authorities in Alto Parapetí and other districts where there are serious human rights violations.
The Permanent Forum invites members of all United Nations human rights treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on the Rights of the Child, to attend the annual sessions of the Permanent Forum, as observers, with the objective of increasing awareness about the distinct human rights and cultural contexts of indigenous peoples so as to enhance their work in relation to indigenous peoples and the Declaration.
UNICEF should consider developing projects to benefit indigenous children in developed countries as required, taking into consideration that many indigenous children in such countries, mainly those living in rural areas, face the same problems as indigenous children in developing countries.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the particular concerns of African indigenous youth, who are striving against political, social and economic challenges, poverty, marginalization and a lack of capacity development and employment. The Permanent Forum calls upon, among others, the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, including the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, to provide adequate capacity-building programmes and opportunities to enable African indigenous youth, women and persons with disabilities to engage meaningfully with States and other key development players, including by organizing and sponsoring attendance at training sessions, conferences and other forums on indigenous issues.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs guarantee the participation of indigenous women during the 15-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in 2010.
The Permanent Forum invites the secretariat of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to share information, at its twenty-first session, in 2022, regarding the progress made in incorporating the rights of indigenous women into the work of the Committee. It also invites States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Discrimination against Women to incorporate specific rights-based indicators and information on indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women, in their periodic progress reports on the implementation of the Convention.
Recalling the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur appointed to undertake a study on the status of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 (E/C.19/2011/6, sect. VIII), the Forum encourages the Government of Bangladesh:
(a) To set a time frame for the full implementation of the Accord, including devolution of authority to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council and three Hill District Councils;
(b) To adopt the rules of business for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Commission and allocate sufficient human and financial resources for the Commission.