The Permanent Forum calls upon States to ensure that national policies regarding indigenous pastoralism and hunter-gatherers comply with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the recent entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Forum encourages Member States to accede to the Optional Protocol and requests the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to consider the preparation of a general comment on the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum urges States to take the measures at the national level necessary for the prevention of self-harm and suicide among indigenous children and youth, in particular by promoting the training of experts in the field of psychology who focus on issues specific to indigenous peoples. Such special training should take into account economic, historical, social, ecological and other factors, such as the loss of indigenous languages, cultures and lands.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women prepare a specific report on the situation of indigenous women’s empowerment, in collaboration with the Forum and indigenous women’s organizations, for submission to the Forum at its seventeenth session.
On the basis of the Permanent Forum’s continued concern about the impact of environmental toxins and the export and import of banned pesticides on the reproductive health of indigenous women and girls, the Forum reaffirms its call, contained in its report on its thirteenth session, for a legal review of the United Nations chemical conventions, in particular the Rotterdam Convention, to ensure that they are in conformity with international human rights standards, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (E/2014/43-E/C.19/2014/11, para. 16; see also E/C.19/2014/8, para. 62). The Forum recommends that the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular article 24, and its recognition of environmental health as a right protected under the Convention also be considered in the legal review. The Forum invites the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes to carry out a review within his mandated area of expertise and to present his conclusions to the Forum at its seventeenth session.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations agencies convene a high-level meeting with representatives of indigenous women to review the commitments and actions for securing the human rights of indigenous women highlighted in articles 21, 22 and 41 of the Declaration.
Owing to the cross-cutting nature of gender equality, it is also critical that gender perspectives be fully integrated into the implementation and monitoring of all the other objectives associated with the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals.
The Permanent Forum recommends that indigenous peoples, as the rightful owners and custodians of their own languages , initiate and develop their own action plans and appropriate measures for the International Year and awareness -raising campaigns to draw attention to the situation of indigenous languages.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations entities, including the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, take effective measures to support the promotion of indigenous languages and the successful implementation of the goals and objectives of the International Year, including in activities related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the systemwide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples, the celebration of international days and other processes.
Sport and physical education are an essential element of quality education, and promote positive values and skills which have a quick but lasting impact on young people. Sports activities and physical education generally make school more attractive and improve attendance.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations agencies review their policies, which presently allow them to assist only indigenous peoples in developing countries, and to urgently revise such policies to ensure that all indigenous peoples, in both developed and developing countries, have access to resources, technical assistance and other support from all United Nations agencies and funds.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States continue to develop legislation to support genuine indigenous representation and participation in decision-making. Legislative measures that create practical, economic, legal and political difficulties for the establishment and functioning of indigenous organizations and institutions worldwide should be addressed in order to allow for cross-border and international cooperation between indigenous peoples of different countries and with and within international organizations on issues and processes affecting them.