The Permanent Forum urges the Government of Kenya to recognize and formally protect the land and resource rights of the Ogiek and Sengwer peoples in line with the Constitution of Kenya, the Community Land Act of 2016 and other relevant laws, before moving ahead with planned conservation efforts in the Cherangany Hills.
Conservation, environmental and other non-governmental organizations ensure that their forest-related programmes and policies use the human rights-based and ecosystem approach to forest conservation. This includes the integration of the implementation of the Declaration in their forest programmes.
The Permanent Forum calls upon the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and States parties thereto to develop mechanisms to promote the participation of indigenous peoples in all aspects of the international dialogue on climate change.
The Permanent Forum decides to appoint Kanyinke Sena, Mirna Cunningham and Bertie Xavier, members of the Permanent Forum, to conduct a study on indigenous peoples’ rights and safeguards in projects related to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and to report back to the Permanent Forum at its twelfth session, in 2013.
However, elements of the Tkarihwaié:ri code of ethical conduct are voluntary. The Permanent Forum is concerned that paragraph one of the code is restrictive as it includes the following: “They should not be construed as altering or interpreting the obligations of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity or any other international instrument. They should not be interpreted as altering domestic laws, treaties, agreements or other constructive arrangements that may already exist.”
The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its 10th meeting of the Code of Ethical Conduct to Ensure Respect for the Cultural and Intellectual Heritage of Indigenous and Local Communities Relevant to the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity (the Tkarihwaié:ri code of ethical conduct), which arose from a Forum recommendation made at its second session, and invites parties and Governments, international agencies and all those working with indigenous communities to make use of the code for research and access to, use, exchange and management of information concerning traditional knowledge.
States should recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to forests and should review and amend laws that are not consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international standards on indigenous peoples’ land and natural resource rights, including over forests. This includes indigenous peoples’ customary law on land and resource rights and the right to be fully involved in decision-making processes.
Recalling paragraph 86 of its report on its eighth session (E/2009/43-E/C.19/2009/14), the Permanent Forum urges public and private education institutions to provide permanent positions for indigenous teachers and to establish scholarships designated exclusively for indigenous students.
Recalling article 14 of the Declaration and the recommendation made by the Permanent Forum at its third session, the Forum urges Member States to adopt and fully implement comprehensive national indigenous education policies and bring into practice the education of indigenous languages teachers in accordance with indigenous peoples’ initiatives.
The Permanent Forum urges the funds, programmes and agencies of the United Nations system to cooperate with States and indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of national action plans, strategies and other measures that aim to achieve the ends of the Declaration, including by providing support for the advancement and adjudication of the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources.
6. The Permanent Forum congratulates the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the adoption of its policy on indigenous and tribal peoples and requests that FAO take measures towards the implementation of the policy at all levels, especially at the country level. Such measures include improving the capacity of FAO staff to work effectively with indigenous peoples and their organizations and establishing a mechanism for partnership. Further, the Permanent Forum requests that FAO involve it in the development of voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests. In addition, the Forum requests participation in the Committee on World Food Security and membership in the Committee’s advisory group.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the progress made in the development of community-based tools to monitor the implementation of the Declaration, the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and encourages collaboration and contributions from Governments, the agencies of the United Nations system, indigenous peoples and civil society organizations to the Indigenous Navigator framework and other tools in order to strengthen community-based monitoring of global commitments made under the Declaration, the World Conference and the Sustainable Development Goals.