The Permanent Forum welcomes the global synthesis report on indicators of well-being, poverty and sustainability relevant to indigenous peoples, which is the culmination of efforts by the United Nations system and indigenous peoples’ organizations over the past several years. The Forum invites the United Nations system, including the United Nations Development Group and the Inter-Agency Support Group, the donor community, States, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to use those indicators as a guide in programmes and projects directly or indirectly affecting indigenous peoples and their communities, in accordance with the standards set by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Plurinational State of Bolivia continue the implementation of specific policies in the areas of housing, health and education in order to benefit the freed communities, paying particular attention to those who have been subjected to servitude, and especially children and adolescents.
The Permanent Forum decides to appoint Mr. Lars Anders-Baer, a member of the Permanent Forum, as a special rapporteur to undertake a study to determine the impact of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures on reindeer herding.
The Forum reiterates the recommendations made in its report on its first session and:
(a) Urges the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and all United Nations bodies and agencies involved in programmes relating to health to incorporate indigenous healers and cultural perspectives on health and illness into their policies, guidelines and programmes, and to undertake regional consultations with indigenous peoples on these issues, in order to mainstream indigenous health issues into the United Nations system;
(b) Urges the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to undertake a study on the relationship between food security, subsistence agricultural practices and indigenous health and illness.
The Permanent Forum notes with concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased sexual and reproductive health challenges worldwide and stresses that there is a need for Governments to implement the commitments they made during the summit held in Nairobi in 2019 to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of on the International Conference on Population and Development.
Given the rapid increase in diabetes among indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum calls upon WHO to undertake a pilot study to assess its prevalence among selected indigenous peoples worldwide in the seven indigenous geo-cultural regions.
The Forum calls upon all those Members States which have not yet done so to consider without delay ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and International Labour Organization Convention No. 169
The Permanent Forum requests the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, with the support of the secretariat of the Forum, to expand and strengthen the United Nations response to reprisals and threats faced by indigenous human rights and environmental defenders by enhancing high-level engagement on reprisals, ensuring appropriate action on urgent cases when reprisals occur.
The Permanent Forum requests that UNICEF operationalize and implement its strategic framework on indigenous and minority children and report to the Forum in 2012 on measures undertaken to that end.
The Forum urges the United Nations funds, agencies and programmes and multilateral cooperation entities, including UNIFEM, to adopt policies and strengthen existing funds for financing and supporting indigenous women’s participation, strengthening their own participation and social development options in all initiatives that promote their cultural identities.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the continuing negotiations between the Nordic States and the Sami peoples towards the adoption of a Nordic Sami convention. The Forum recommends that the minimum international human rights standards contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples be the framework for all negotiations concerning the convention and the harmonizing of Sami rights within Nordic countries. It urges Nordic States to recognize and respect the Sami peoples’ right to self-determination, to determine their own identity or membership of their institutions in accordance with their customs and their right not to be subjected to forced assimilation, consistent with articles 8 and 33 of the Declaration, the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (see CERD/C/FIN/CO/19, para. 13).
The Permanent Forum notes that the Constitutional Court of Guatemala issued ruling No. 2112-2016 of 24 October 2017 on indigenous peoples’ intellectual collective property. The Permanent Forum urges Guatemala to comply with the ruling and to adopt laws and policies, respecting the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples.