The Permanent Forum appreciates the organization of a seminar on advances and challenges in the implementation of the Declaration, which was held in Mexico City and attended by Indigenous experts from Latin America, and which resulted in a series of recommendations included in the document “Mexico-Tenochtitlán Agreements on the Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. The Forum calls upon the organizers of that seminar to report on progress made with regard to those recommendations in the outcome document of the seminar.
The Permanent Forum invites the Development Coordination Office to include Forum members in its future meetings with resident coordinators for Indigenous Peoples’ issues to be heard and to share experiences on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the national level.
The Permanent Forum recognizes that education systems must be culturally safe and support Indigenous Peoples’ languages. The Forum reiterates the urgent need for Member States to protect Indigenous Peoples’ languages, both spoken and written, during the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, by adopting appropriate laws and policies.
The Permanent Forum is equally alarmed at the many testimonies from Indigenous Peoples on the establishment of protected areas and conservation measures without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples and the persistent violations of their human rights in the context of conservation. The Permanent Forum underlines that it is the responsibility of Member States and other actors to obtain free, prior and informed consent directly from Indigenous Peoples when developing policies and legislation pertaining to conservation measures and protected areas.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Permanent Forum urges the Conference of the Parties to establish a commission, as early as possible, to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Framework, especially its target 3 on protecting 30 per cent of the planet’s land and water by 2030, with the full and equitable participation of Indigenous Peoples and respecting their rights to free, prior and informed consent. The establishment of robust grievance mechanisms is vital.
The Permanent Forum urges States to respect and support indigenous peoples’ priorities, including through the development and implementation of economic recovery strategic plans to support and strengthen indigenous peoples’ institutions, authorities and decision-making bodies in the exercise of their right to selfdetermination. Indigenous peoples have the right to possess the means for financing their autonomous functions and priorities.
In accordance with article 16 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, indigenous peoples have the right to full freedom of expression, including the right to establish their own media in their own languages. The Permanent Forum is concerned that indigenous peoples of Latin America have been criminalized for the establishment of community radio stations and urges Member States to protect the rights of indigenous communicators
The Permanent Forum recommends that WIPO seek the participation of experts on international human rights law specifically concerning indigenous peoples so that they provide input into the substantive consultation process, in particular with reference to the language in the draft text where indigenous peoples are “beneficiaries” and other language that refers to indigenous peoples as “communities”, as well as the general alignment of the draft text of the Intergovernmental Committee with international human rights norms and principles.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States actively engage with their indigenous peoples in both developed countries and developing countries, including indigenous women, indigenous youth and indigenous persons with disabilities, in developing key indicators on indigenous peoples, including for data disaggregation, to be included in the overall indicators for the post-2015 development agenda to be adopted in March 2016.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the full, effective and direct representation and participation of indigenous peoples, including their indigenous governments, councils, parliaments and other political institutions, should be ensured at all United Nations forums and multilateral and bilateral negotiations, and in the drafting processes of the corresponding emerging instruments, for example, those under discussion at the World Bank, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Such instruments must be harmonized with the Declaration, which is regarded as a reflection of the minimum human rights standards necessary for the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples, nations and communities. Such instruments should be consistent with or exceed those minimum standards.
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.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations and United Nations system organizations ensure the effective participation of indigenous peoples at the Food Systems Summit in 2021, as well as at all the related processes conducted in advance thereof and thereafter, including the pre-summit to be held in Italy from 19 to 21 July 2021. The food systems of indigenous peoples support sustainability and care for the environment and generate healthy foods important for the eradication of hunger and the achievement of the Goals.