The Forum notes the preparation of the World Congress on Protected Areas, to be held in Durban, South Africa, in September 2003, which Forum members consider to be an important meeting calling for their attention and action. The Forum recommends that all laws, policies or work programmes on forests and protected areas guarantee, ensure and respect various aspects of indigenous peoples’ lives, such as their spiritual and cultural lives, lands and territorial rights, including sacred sites, needs and benefits, and recognize their rights of access to and control over the management of forests.
The Forum appreciates the preparation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of the information note on the ways in which indigenous issues have been addressed in Charter-based mechanisms and treaty bodies. The Forum recommends that the Secretary-General prepare, in several stages, an analytical study on the subject. In the initial stage, the Forum recommends the Secretary-General prepare a study on the ways in which indigenous issues have been addressed in the consideration of reports of States parties submitted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.