The Forum recommends that the United Nations Statistics Division mainstream statistical issues pertaining to indigenous peoples in the development of handbooks and guidelines. The Forum also recommends that the Statistics Division continue to coordinate with the regional commissions and consider that part of their work that is relevant to indigenous people and census operations in the revision of the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses
The Permanent Forum urges Member States, the United Nations system and private philanthropic institutions to fund activities for the implementation of the global action plan and invites UNESCO, as the lead agency for the commemoration of the International Decade, to prioritize support for projects led by indigenous peoples. Languages on the brink of extinction must be afforded particular attention.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the World Bank brings its policy on indigenous peoples (OP 4.10) into full compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Forum attaches particular importance to the need for the Bank to adopt the standard of free, prior and informed consent and, in general, to institutionalize and operationalize an approach based on human rights. The Forum reiterates its recommendation, made at its twelfth session that the emerging instruments of the Bank and other agencies 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 Forum underlines the need for the Bank’s operational policies to use language that is consistent with the Declaration.
The Permanent Forum is concerned that the regional presence, representation and services of United Nations agencies in the Asia-Pacific region are limited mostly to the Asian subregion, and recommends that all United Nations agencies review their operations to provide equal services to the Pacific subregion and identify their operations separately according to the two subregions.
The Permanent Forum urges States to financially resource, empower and support local Arctic indigenous communities in order to give indigenous youth and women, together with other members of the communities, the opportunity to secure and develop their cultures.
The Forum recommends that Governments provide public water and sanitation systems to the villages and rural areas where indigenous people live, and control the pollution of rivers and streams affected by pollution from such toxic chemicals as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and industrial waste. The Forum also recommends Governments to create programmes to clean up the rivers and streams that have already been polluted and to ban further pollution by agribusiness and industries.
Taking into account decision 22/16 of the Governing Council of UNEP, the Forum recommends that UNEP and relevant United Nations agencies and programmes hold consultations at the regional and national levels with indigenous peoples to examine this issue and prepare recommendations on possible further strengthening of the understanding of the link between environment and cultural diversity.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the invitation extended by the Russian Federation to hold a United Nations expert group meeting devoted to environmental and indigenous peoples’ issues in Khabarovsk, Russian Federation, in August 2007, and invites other States to follow its good example.
The Permanent Forum requests the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to complete its work on the draft code of ethical conduct for the recognition and protection of indigenous intellectual property and cultural heritage, taking into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as a minimum standard, with a view to adopting the code at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity.eas.
The Forum recommends that the Working Group on Indigenous Populations undertake a study on genocidal and ethnocidal practices perpetrated on indigenous peoples, including programmes for sterilization of indigenous women and girls, the use of indigenous communities as subjects for nuclear testing or storage of radioactive waste and the testing of unapproved drugs on indigenous children and peoples.
National human rights institutions are encouraged to work with indigenous peoples to develop strategies to protect and provide support to indigenous human rights defenders.
The Permanent Forum invites Member States to fully implement recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples following her or his country visits.