The Forum recommends that UNESCO, other cultural institutions and academic institutions:
(a) Recognize and document the diversity of gender relations in indigenous communities based on active community input and participation;
(b) Examine and document women’s spheres of power in indigenous societies, taking into account traditional mechanisms of gender definition and distinction (e.g., pollution/purity, gender-specific roles in ritual, gendered division of labour);
(c) Examine and document the instrumental role of women in indigenous societies as the custodians of sacred knowledge and power, and as medical specialists;
(d) Highlight and give recognition to women’s instrumental roles in indigenous societies as educators, healers and ritual specialists;
(e) Highlight indigenous women’s traditional skills, arts and crafts and publicize them through the media, cultural institutions etc.
The Forum recommends that the United Nations system continue its advocacy work on indigenous connectivity in preparation for phase II of the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in 2005, taking into account the Declaration of the Global Forum of Indigenous Peoples and the Information Society and the Programme of Action. The Forum supports and applauds the decision taken by the Summit to establish multi-stakeholder portals that allow communication between indigenous peoples at the national level.
The Forum recommends that the International Labour Organization inform the Forum at its third session of the impact of the major ILO technical cooperation programmes, in particular the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour, and programmes under the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the document of the Commission of the European Communities (COM (2008)), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The European Union and the Arctic Region delivered in Brussels on 20 November 2008 and urges the European Union to begin implementing the recommendations relevant to indigenous peoples from this document.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the document of the Commission of the European Communities (COM (2008)), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The European Union and the Arctic Region delivered in Brussels on 20 November 2008 and urges the European Union to begin implementing the recommendations relevant to indigenous peoples from this document.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the decision 2009/250 of the Economic and Social Council on a proposed amendment to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, related to the traditional use of the coca leaf. The Forum recommends that Member States support this initiative, taking into account articles 11, 24 and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States include in all education curricula, in particular the school system, a discussion of the doctrine of discovery/dispossession and its contemporary manifestations, including land laws and policies of removal.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States recognize the language rights of indigenous peoples and develop language policies to promote and protect indigenous languages, with a focus on high-quality education in indigenous languages, including by supporting full immersion methods such as language nests and innovative methods such as nomadic schools. It is essential that States develop evidence-based legislation and policies to promote and protect indigenous languages and, in that regard, they should collect and disseminate baseline information on the status of indigenous languages. These activities should be conducted in close cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned.
The Permanent Forum remains concerned about the state of formal education for indigenous young people and calls upon States to fully fund bilingual and culturally appropriate primary, secondary and tertiary education programmes led by indigenous peoples, including mobile education initiatives for nomadic and semi-nomadic communities. Supporting informal and formal indigenous education systems is crucial in order to maintain and transmit traditional indigenous knowledge systems.
Recognizing the emerging role of civil society and indigenous peoples in the search for creative solutions as a means of contributing to formulating, developing and implementing policies and programmes of the United Nations system, the Forum welcomes the initiative of the Secretary-General to create a high-level panel to prepare a series of recommendations on the participation of civil society in the work of the United Nations system. The Forum recommends that the Secretary-General ask the high-level panel to hold consultations and to take into account the recommendations of the Forum on the improvement of indigenous peoples’ participation in and contributions to the work of the United Nations system.
The Permanent Forum urges the International Union for Conservation of Nature to establish a task force on conservation and human rights to work with indigenous peoples’ communities and organizations to clearly articulate the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of conservation initiatives and to continue to promote grievance mechanisms and avenues for redress in the context of conservation action, including the Whakatane Mechanism. The Forum invites the Union to report on progress made in the implementation of these recommendations in future sessions.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the measures undertaken by several countries that aim, inter alia, to explore and develop alternative sources of income, significantly reduce the exploitation of natural resources, enhance conservation of biological diversity and establish measures in favour of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, such as the national initiative undertaken by Ecuador entitled “Yasuni-ITT initiative”. The Permanent Forum recommends that such measures respect the right to free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned.