The Permanent Forum urges Member States to contribute support to make possible the annual UNITAR training programme to enhance the conflict prevention and peacemaking capacities of indigenous peoples’ representatives so as to strengthen indigenous capacity to engage in negotiation, dialogue and peace processes to contribute to sustainable peace.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the Intergovernmental Committee to appoint representatives of indigenous peoples as members of any Friends of the Chair groups and as co-chairs of any working groups and drafting groups that may be established by the Committee. It also calls upon the Committee to appoint an indigenous person as a co-chair of the Committee as a whole.
Include questions on indigenous identity with full respect for the principle of self-identification. It is important to develop multiple criteria by which to accurately capture identity and socio-economic conditions with the active and meaningful participation of local indigenous peoples
The Forum reiterates its recommendations on economic and social development made at its second session, in particular those contained in chapter I, section B, paragraphs 26-28, 33-34, 36, 39 and 44 of the report.
The Permanent Forum recommends that international financial institutions adopt and incorporate the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent, without qualification, into their safeguard policies and project-related instruments. International financial institutions must ensure that their clients and borrowers engage in processes with indigenous peoples affected by bank-financed projects to secure their free, prior and informed consent.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States to contribute support to make possible the annual UNITAR training programme to enhance the conflict prevention and peacemaking capacities of indigenous peoples’ representatives so as to strengthen indigenous capacity to engage in negotiation, dialogue and peace processes to contribute to sustainable peace.
The Forum recommends that the United Nations Forum on Forests develop effective means to monitor and verify the participation of indigenous peoples in forest policy-making and sustainable forest management, and establish a mechanism, with the participation of indigenous peoples, to assess the performance of governmental and intergovernmental commitments and obligations to uphold and respect indigenous peoples’ rights.
The Forum recommends that United Nations bodies, in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity, in coordination with the World Bank, UNDP, FAO and IFAD, and UNEP, organize a workshop on protecting sacred places and ceremonial sites of indigenous peoples with a view to identifying protective mechanisms and instituting a legal framework that make cultural, environmental and social impact assessments studies mandatory and ensure the environmental accountability of economic, social and environmental projects that are proposed to be conducted on sacred sites and on lands, territories and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum requests the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Intellectual Property Organization to assist it in finalizing the study on sui generis systems based on customary laws for the protection of traditional knowledge with a view to advancing its protection.
The Permanent Forum applauds the historic decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council in recognizing the right to water as a human right, as well as its decision to initiate a study on the scope and content of the relevant human rights obligations related to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights instruments, to be submitted prior to the sixth session of the Council. The Permanent Forum also calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present to the seventh session of the Permanent Forum the results of her study on the impact on the rights of indigenous peoples in terms of contamination, diversion, appropriation and privatization of water, which is sacred to indigenous peoples and is central to all life.
The Permanent Forum requests that entities, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system allocate relevant financial and human resources to carry out commitments to indigenous peoples, as per the system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples and respective strategic plans and programmes and to provide information to the Forum about the allocation of such resources at its annual sessions.
The Forum wishes to express its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples for his participation at the second session of the Forum and for his important contribution thereto. The Forum invites the Special Rapporteur to participate annually at its sessions and to inform the Forum on his work in accordance with his mandate.