The Permanent Forum welcomes efforts by Member States to organize specific vaccine programmes for indigenous peoples and encourages the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi Alliance, WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund, in their administration of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, to ensure that indigenous peoples are uniquely included in vaccine dissemination efforts. Given the disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 virus on the mortality of indigenous peoples in many countries, the Forum underlines the urgency of ensuring that all indigenous peoples are uniquely considered in vaccine planning and distribution. Due attention should also be given to indigenous peoples affected by conflict and post-conflict situations and complex humanitarian emergencies.
The Permanent Forum recalls that, more than 10 years ago, the International Fund for Agricultural Development established an indigenous forum, which the Forum has repeatedly recognized as a good practice and recommended that other United Nations entities should follow. However, despite these recommendations, other entities have not done so, with the notable exception of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Forum reiterates its recommendation that United Nations entities should incorporate indigenous-driven platforms in order to give advice on and promote indigenous peoples’ issues and should consider the participation of the Permanent Forum together with indigenous peoples in such platforms.