The Permanent Forum also recommends that the Commission on the Status of Women include in its agenda a specific focus on Indigenous women and girls to identify best practices and guide Member States in implementing general recommendation No. 39.
Indigenous women’s collective rights and the decolonization of State structures are essential to implementing general recommendation No. 39. The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) conduct and present a study by 2025 on the impacts of colonization on the rights of Indigenous women and girls, including within the context of the UN-Women strategy for the inclusion and visibility of Indigenous women, in collaboration with other United Nations entities. The study should identify critical action areas and strategies to advance the implementation of general recommendation No. 39.
The accessibility of general recommendation No. 39 to Indigenous Peoples is crucial to ensure its effective implementation and impact on the ground. The Permanent Forum recommends its translation into Indigenous languages spoken by Indigenous Peoples in their States before the end of 2032.
The Permanent Forum welcomes and endorses general recommendation No. 39 (2022) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Recommendation No. 39 provides critical guidance to States parties on legislative, policy and other relevant measures to ensure the implementation of their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, while taking into account the rights of Indigenous women and girls derived from specific instruments for the protection of Indigenous Peoples, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 169. The Permanent Forum calls upon Member States that have not yet done so to ratify without delay the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and ILO Convention No. 169.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States, international organizations and the United Nations system to support, financially and by other means, the strengthening of the Ibero-American Institute of Indigenous Languages, which aims to guarantee the exercise of the cultural and linguistic rights recognized in, inter alia, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and International Labour Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No.169).
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the importance of collaboration across all sectors to ensure that Indigenous Peoples’ languages continue to thrive for generations. In that regard, the Permanent Forum calls upon large technological companies to support the development and accessibility of digital tools for the expansion and increased use of Indigenous Peoples’ languages with the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples.
Importantly, and in parallel with action plans, the Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to urgently provide adequate and appropriate support and resources for Indigenous Peoples’ languages, with a focus on Indigenous-led initiatives. That is especially crucial in circumstances in which the languages are critically endangered. When an Indigenous Peoples’ language becomes extinct, the richness of the ways of life and world views of Indigenous Peoples is lost, which is detrimental both to Indigenous Peoples and to the world.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the commitments and support of the Member States that have established action plans, in parallel with the Global Action Plan, that include support for transformative initiatives that strengthen and protect Indigenous languages, such as the establishment of universities of Indigenous Peoples’ languages in Mexico and Morocco and the efforts of Nordic and other countries in committing to engaging in digital communication and information technologies for Indigenous Peoples’ languages. For those Member States that have yet to develop an action plan, the Permanent Forum reiterates the call for Member States to initiate such plans, in full cooperation with Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum underlines the need for the examination of national policies, practices and funding programmes on Indigenous media, including capacitybuilding and content production in Indigenous languages by Indigenous media professionals, including Indigenous women, and for the promotion of international cooperation, knowledge-sharing and cooperation among Indigenous media and other partners, including mainstream media and Governments. The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in partnership with relevant United Nations entities and Indigenous Peoples, conduct a study on Indigenous media and present their findings at the annual session of the Permanent Forum in 2025.
The Permanent Forum recalls the relevance of article 13 (1) of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and encourages States to step up efforts, in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, to advance the realization of the linguistic and cultural rights of Indigenous Peoples, including through the right to education in Indigenous Peoples’ languages in the context of the International Decade.
The Permanent Forum recommends that Member States support, financially and in every other way, Indigenous Peoples’ development of their own strategies in revitalizing, strengthening and developing their languages parallel to other efforts under the Global Action Plan.