The Permanent Forum welcomes the first meeting of Escazú Agreement. The Escazú Agreement is the first instrument that includes provisions on the protection of human rights defenders in environmental matters. The Permanent Forum urges States parties to ensure implementation of the Agreement and invites them to establish mechanisms for the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in the work thereof. The Permanent Forum reiterates its invitation to countries that have not yet signed or ratified the Agreement to do so.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) advance data and research on the challenges that indigenous women and girls face in realizing their right to bodily autonomy and the right to be free from violence, including reproductive coercion and in birthing practices. Furthermore, the Permanent Forum invites UNFPA to prepare a study on indigenous women’s bodily autonomy, with the participation of indigenous women, and to present its findings at the twenty-third session of the Permanent Forum, to be held in 2024.