E/2011/43
E/C.19/2011/14
24. The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption by the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity of two additional indicators for traditional
knowledge: (a) status and trends in land use change and land tenure in the
traditional territories of indigenous and local communities, and (b) status and trends
in the practice of traditional occupations, to complement the adopted indicator on
status and trends in traditional languages. The Forum urges the secretariat of the
Convention and agencies working on these issues, including the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ILO, FAO, IFAD and
the International Land Coalition, to collaborate with a view to fully operationalizing
those indicators.
25. In regard to the rights of indigenous peoples, the Permanent Forum reiterates
its long-standing position of encouraging the United Nations, its organs and
specialized agencies, as well as all States, to adopt a human rights-based approach.
At the international, regional and national level, the human rights of indigenous
peoples are always relevant if such rights are at risk of being undermined. Human
rights are indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. They must be respected in
any context specifically concerning indigenous peoples, from environment to
development, to peace and security, and many other issues.
26. Affirmation of the status of indigenous peoples as “peoples” is important in
fully respecting and protecting their human rights. Consistent with its 2010 report
(E/2010/43-E/C.19/2010/15), the Permanent Forum calls upon the parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity, and especially including the Nagoya Protocol,
to adopt the terminology “indigenous peoples and local communities” as an accurate
reflection of the distinct identities developed by those entities since the adoption of
the Convention almost 20 years ago.
27. The Permanent Forum reiterates to the parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity, and especially to the parties to the Nagoya Protocol, the importance of
respecting and protecting indigenous peoples’ rights to genetic resources consistent
with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Consistent with the objective of “fair and equitable” benefit sharing in the
Convention and Protocol, all rights based on customary use must be safeguarded
and not only “established” rights. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination has concluded that such kinds of distinctions would be
discriminatory. 2
28. The Permanent Forum welcomes the World Intellectual Property Organization
facilitating a process, in accordance with the Declaration, to engage with indigenous
peoples on matters including intellectual property, genetic resources, traditional
knowledge and folklore.
29. 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.
30. Numerous indigenous representatives have raised region-specific concerns
about the adverse impacts of climate change on their communities. The Permanent
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6
See CERD/C/GUY/CO/14, para. 15.
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