E/2011/43 E/C.19/2011/14 Forum will therefore explore the potential for conducting, by appropriate United Nations entities, assessments, studies and reviews of the economic, social and cultural impacts of climate change on indigenous nations, peoples and communities. For example, the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification could conduct a study on climate change and desertification in the African region. 31. The Permanent Forum recognizes the right to participate in decision-making and the importance of mechanisms and procedures for the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in relation to article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Forum reiterates that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Maritime Organization should facilitate indigenous peoples’ participation in their processes. 32. The Permanent Forum welcomes the study on indigenous peoples and corporations that examined existing mechanisms and policies related to corporations and indigenous peoples and identified good practices. The Forum recommends that best practices of the application of the right of free, prior and informed consent regarding corporations and indigenous peoples be documented and shared. 33. The Permanent Forum notes the intention of the International Indigenous Women’s Environmental Justice and Reproductive Health Initiative to organize an expert group meeting on the environment and indigenous women’s reproductive health and requests that the organizers invite members of the Permanent Forum to participate in the meeting. Further, the Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization participate in the expert group meeting. Free, prior and informed consent 34. The common understanding of the right to free, prior and informed consent is that consent should be given freely, without coercion, intimidation or manipulation (free); sought sufficiently at all stages, including from inception to final authorization and implementation of activities (prior); based on an understanding of the full range of issues and implications entailed by the activity or decision in question (informed); and given by the legitimate representatives of the indigenous peoples concerned. 35. Free, prior and informed consent has been explicitly affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in relation to the relocation of indigenous peoples from their lands and territories (article 10); redress with respect to the appropriation of their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property (article 11, paragraph 2); obtaining such consent before adopting and implementing legislative and administrative measures that may affect indigenous peoples (article 19); redress for their lands or resources taken without their consent (article 28, paragraph 1); disposal of hazardous materials in their territories (article 29, paragraph 2); and obtaining of such consent prior to the approval of development projects affecting their lands or territories and other resources (article 32, paragraph 2). 11-37063 7