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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In “a spirit of partnership and mutual respect”, the Permanent Forum emphasizes the important standards set out in articles 18, 19 and 41 of the Declaration. Article 18 provides that “indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters that would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures”, and article 19 provides that “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them”. Such equal, direct and meaningful participation by indigenous peoples throughout all stages of the World Conference is essential for the international community to achieve a constructive and comprehensive outcome that will genuinely improve the status and conditions of indigenous peoples worldwide.
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.