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.
We encourage the Economic and Social Council in respect of the following recommendation: the Council should request that the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean continue and strengthen its efforts regarding the production, elaboration and use of relevant information from population census, household surveys and other adequate sources, in strong interaction with indigenous peoples, aiming at improving the socio-economic conditions and active participation of indigenous peoples in the development process throughout the Latin American region. In addition, the Forum recommends that in all relevant data-collection processes, Member States and the United Nations organizations take the steps described in paragraphs 84-88 below
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 Forum recommends that the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna facilitate the full and effective participation, including funding, of indigenous peoples, particularly women and youth, and the Forum in the work to implement these conventions, and involve them fully in policy formulation and in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of environmental programmes or projects.
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 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.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its recommendation on indigenous peoples living in voluntary and semi-voluntary isolation, or “uncontacted”, from its fourth session, and urges Governments, indigenous peoples’ organizations, non-governmental organizations and multilateral bodies to take note of and implement the Belem Declaration on Isolated Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon and Gran Chaco, as well as International Labour Convention No. 169, domestic legislation and court orders that protect and maintain the rights of these indigenous peoples and their designated territories throughout the world to exist in isolation, should they so choose. The Permanent Forum urges Governments, the United Nations system, civil society and indigenous peoples’ organizations to cooperate in immediately ensuring effective prohibition against outside encroachment, aggression, forcible assimilation, and acts and processes of genocide. Measures of protection should comprise the safeguarding of their natural environment and livelihood and minimally invasive, culturally sensitive mobile health-care services.
The Forum recommends that, under the aegis of the Forum, effective cooperation should be established and further developed between the Forum, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the special rapporteurs who address issues relating to indigenous peoples, with a view towards evaluating their activities, ensuring complementary efforts and avoiding duplication, in the light of resolution 2003/55 of the Commission on Human Rights.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States establish, where it does not already exist, a national dialogue with indigenous peoples on human rights, based on the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum encourages the Government of Paraguay to continue to accept assistance from United Nations agencies and programmes and national cooperation agencies in order to develop policies aimed at the elimination of forced labour and other forms of servitude, especially in matters relating to the most urgent challenges: food, health, housing and education.