The Permanent Forum encourages all United Nations entities to actively engage with United Nations resident coordinators and country teams to ensure that Indigenous Peoples’ issues are integrated into country-level initiatives and joint work planning, including through a reflection of their concerns in the common country analysis, in line with the system-wide action plan and the Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights.
The Constitution of Nepal has provisions for special, protected and autonomous regions for Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum welcomes further progress towards realizing the provisions of the Constitution, including by considering the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to Nepal in 2018 on respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their traditional lands and resources and to self-determination.
The Permanent Forum welcomes information from the Government of Bangladesh on progress towards the implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. It calls upon Bangladesh to make further efforts towards full implementation of the Accord through constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council, the three Hill District Councils and the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission.
The Permanent Forum urges that discussions at the forthcoming summit to renew the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, scheduled to be held in Brazil in August 2023, fully involve Indigenous Peoples from the Amazon region in determining a road map that addresses their situation, including cross-border illegal activities and organized crime.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its previous recommendations on the ongoing plastic crisis and the importance of the effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in the negotiations of the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme on an international treaty to tackle the crisis. The Permanent Forum welcomes the discussions of the Human Rights Council on the matter at its fifty-second session.
The Permanent Forum acknowledges the progress made on its recommendation to FAO and WHO to revise the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management to include Indigenous Peoples’ views. The Permanent Forum urges FAO and WHO to develop guidance notes on the risk of pesticide use in Indigenous Peoples’ territories, in consultation with Indigenous Peoples.
The inclusion and full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, as beneficiaries and partners in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, while avoiding negative impacts on their rights are essential. The Permanent Forum recommends that States and relevant United Nations entities cooperate with Indigenous Peoples to fully consider their situations during the midpoint review at the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in 2023, including in the preparations at the high-level political forum on sustainable development.
The Permanent Forum recognizes the efforts of WIPO to support Indigenous Peoples in taking part in its processes, including through training programmes and support from its voluntary fund for Indigenous Peoples. It urges WIPO and its member States to ensure the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in meetings, including the Diplomatic Conference in 2024 and its related preparatory meetings, on one or more international legal instruments relating to traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expression, genetic resources and folklore.
The Permanent Forum is concerned that HIV acquisition rates are higher in Indigenous communities than in the general population. The Permanent Forum encourages the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS to continue its focus on Indigenous Peoples.
The Permanent Forum urges Member States and relevant United Nations entities to ensure the right and access to media by and for Indigenous Peoples, as enshrined in article 16 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It calls upon Member States to cooperate with Indigenous journalists, as well as with OHCHR and other relevant United Nations entities, on the effective protection of Indigenous journalists from criminalization and violence.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues welcomes the report of the international expert group meeting on the theme “Truth, transitional justice and reconciliation processes” (E/C.19/2023/3). The Permanent Forum endorses the recommendations in the report urging Member States to include Indigenous representatives and leaders in all transitional justice institutions and conflict prevention initiatives and to develop training programmes on human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights for concerned government agencies. It recommends that the Human Rights Council request that OHCHR, in cooperation with relevant United Nations entities, prepare a companion report by 2025 related to the guidance note of the Secretary-General on the United Nations approach to transitional justice.
The Permanent Forum notes the forthcoming Summit of the Future and recommends that the Secretary-General ensure the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples.
