The Permanent Forum calls for the implementation on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which gives clear guidance to States on the need for them to minimize childhood exposure to toxic chemicals through water, food, air and other sources of exposure. It is critical that environmental regulators be educated specifically regarding article 24 of the Convention.
The Permanent Forum urges States to generate statistics disaggregated by ethnicity, gender, indigenous identity, language, language skills and self-identification, and to provide sources of data to allow for a more accurate assessment of whether indigenous children and youth are actually benefiting from the expenditure earmarked for them. The Forum also urges United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to support member States in generating statistics and the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and academic centres to produce a toolkit that provides a comprehensive and an accurate overview of human development indicators concerning indigenous children and youth.
Within the framework of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and its Action Plan, the Forum recommends that:
(a) All United Nations bodies and Governments initiate new ethnographic studies that re-evaluate stereotypical views on gender relationships within indigenous populations in order to challenge existing misconceptions by highlighting diverse community roles in which indigenous women wield real power and play leadership roles;
(b) Member States with indigenous populations develop multicultural public policies with a view to implementing the contents of the Declaration and strengthening, in an equitable manner, local cultures;
(c) UNESCO promote the recovery of underwater indigenous heritage, the oral tradition and ancient writings with a view to recognizing them as the heritage of humanity.
The Permanent Forum recalls the recommendation contained in paragraph 39 of its report on its sixteenth session, in which States were encouraged to continue to cooperate 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 Peoples’ Issues convene an international technical expert seminar on indicators of the well-being of indigenous peoples to discuss indicators that could be used in monitoring the situation of indigenous peoples and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Furthermore, the Forum recommends that relevant United Nations bodies and agencies, States and indigenous peoples conduct assessments of the extent to which they have advanced the recommendations of the Forum on indigenous women, utilizing the framework of the Declaration, as set out by the International Indigenous Women’s Forum. Action for the immediate implementation of these recommendations is required by all.
The Forum, taking into account the meetings between the World Bank and indigenous peoples held during its second session on the guidelines and operative policies and procedural norms of the Bank, recommends that the Bank:
(a) Continue to address issues currently outstanding, including Bank implementation of international
customary laws and standards, in particular human rights instruments, full recognition of customary land and resource rights of indigenous peoples, recognition of the right of free, prior informed consent of indigenous peoples regarding development projects that affect them, and prohibition of the involuntary resettlement of indigenous peoples;
(b) Compile examples of best practices in development projects with indigenous peoples and include those best practices in future policies;
(c) Discuss the issues of forced relocation and land rights;
(d) Facilitate and support the exchange of knowledge and information between indigenous organizations;
(e) Facilitate and support the exchange of information on the implementation of policies on indigenous peoples by international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The Forum recommends to Governments the design and implementation of mechanisms for resolving the problems related to land tenure and access to credits, with quality and efficiency and without affecting indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that social and environmental impact assessments, including human rights impact assessments and poverty impact assessments, of financial investments and trade agreements directly affecting indigenous peoples be undertaken, and that the resources for those assessments be provided by the sources of the investments and the parties to trade agreements.
The Permanent Forum invites the General Assembly to consider the creation of a distinct United Nations voluntary fund for indigenous youth or the earmarking of existing and future funds to increase and enhance the direct participation of indigenous youth at the United Nations. Furthermore, the Forum encourages every State Member of the United Nations to make multi-year voluntary contributions to such existing and/or future funds.
The Permanent Forum calls on indigenous peoples’ organizations, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations to develop popular education materials on climate change and climate mitigation and adaptation measures and undertake education and training activities at the local levels. The Forum also recommends that ICT be used to disseminate and raise awareness of indigenous peoples’ perspectives and issues on climate change.
The Permanent Forum recommends that donors and United Nations agencies give more support to indigenous peoples in Africa, where appropriate, to promote, recognize, protect and enhance indigenous traditional knowledge.
The Forum recommends that the relevant United Nations entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in particular its Division for the Advancement of Women, UNICEF, UNIFEM, the Department of Public Information and ILO:
(a) Encourage the dissemination of information in indigenous languages at the local level, concerning the rights of indigenous peoples, especially indigenous women;
(b) Encourage and support the training of indigenous women in human rights and the rule of law;
(c) Provide technical assistance to governments to establish the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, especially indigenous women.