June 2015: The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) released the report of its 14th session, recommending that commitments made at the September 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) be reflected in the post-2015 development agenda, especially the agreed actions on: data disaggregation; land rights; traditional knowledge; free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); and access to justice.

The 14th session of the PFII took place from 20 April to 1 May 2015, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. Its report reflects concern that “legal obligations and commitments and indigenous peoples’ treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements with States are routinely denied and violated by States,” and calls on States to fairly and equitably redress long-standing unresolved land rights issues.

In relation to the post-2015 development agenda, the Forum calls for the political declaration preceding the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to: affirm indigenous peoples’ right to development, based on the security of their lands, territories and resources; and commit to ensuring their equal access to high-quality education, health, housing, water and sanitation. The Forum also requests that the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) engage with indigenous peoples in developing key indicators relating to land and resource rights, empowerment, access to justice and other issues.

On self-harm and suicide among children and young people, the Forum urges the World Health Organization (WHO) to initiate research on its prevalence, prepare a compilation of good practices in prevention, and publish the findings by 1 January 2017. The Forum also calls on the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to develop a policy on indigenous children and young people.

On food sovereignty and security, the Forum recommends that the States of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the International Fund on Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) establish a committee with the participation of indigenous peoples, to prevent food crises in the sub-Saharan region. The Forum also invites member States to consider announcing an international year of camelids, with the aim of drawing attention to the management of lands, territories and resources for the breeding of camelids.

The Forum also urgently requests all States, UN agencies and high-level representatives of the UN system to ensure the direct participation of indigenous peoples in the multilateral negotiations of the post-2015 development agenda, the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development, and the Paris Climate Change Conference.

The PFII’s 2016 session will take place on the theme of ‘Indigenous peoples, conflict, peace and resolution.’ [PFII Web Page with Related Links] [IISD-RS Report on PFII-14]