E/2022/43 E/C.19/2022/11 123. Participants highlighted that the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms, such as truth and reconciliation commissions, can play an i mportant role in uncovering the truth and achieving a certain level of reconciliation, including the tragic legacy of boarding and residential schools. 124. The Permanent Forum calls on the Government of Canada to fully implement the recommendations emanating from its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Permanent Forum calls on the United States of America to formalize the establishment of a truth and reconciliation mechanism on the boarding school crisis. 125. The Permanent Forum calls on Canada and the United States of America to develop national action plans to realize the aims of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and appoint an ambassador or special envoy on global indigenous affairs to promote the rights of indig enous peoples globally, including on participation. Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia 126. The Permanent Forum heard accounts from indigenous peoples on how the use of traditional knowledge, medicine and food and the continuation of their traditional livelihoods had helped them in their efforts to overcome the COVID -19 pandemic. Residence in remote areas and the restrictions on mobility posed by the authorities had protected indigenous communities from the virus. However, these conditions also signified limited access to public services, including emergency health care. In some instances, indigenous peoples’ participation in decision-making had not returned to the pre-pandemic level. 127. The Permanent Forum calls for the respect of the rights of indigenous peoples at all times. Pacific 128. The Pacific regional dialogue included such issues as violence by States against indigenous peoples, criminalization, damage to and the destruction of indigenous lands and risks posed by mining and land development, and constitutional recognition of indigenous peoples in the Pacific region. The Hawaiian people ’s resistance to the annexation of Hawaii by the United States was highlighted, as was the West Papuan peoples’ assertion of their rights to decolonization and independence. 129. Indigenous peoples are using other United Nations mechanisms, such as the complaint referred to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by Aboriginal people concerning heritage protection. 130. The Permanent Forum is concerned about the contemporary removal of children in Australia and New Zealand. High removal rates of indigenous children pose serious risk to their safety, wellbeing and cultural identity. 131. The Permanent Forum is concerned about damage to Mauna Kea in Hawaii and wider risks to clean and safe drinking water. 22/27 22-07676