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a sustainable system of equitable land tenure to prevent any further forced evictions;
publish without delay the recommendations of the task force to advise the
Government on the implementation of the decision of the African Court on Human
and Peoples’ Rights in respect of the rights of the Ogiek community of Mau; enhance
the participation of indigenous communities in the sustainable management of forests;
and comply with the decision of the Court.
63. The Permanent Forum notes with concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has
increased sexual and reproductive health challenges worldwide and stresses that there
is a need for Governments to implement the commitments they made during the
summit held in Nairobi in 2019 to mark the twenty -fifth anniversary of on the
International Conference on Population and Development.
64. Furthermore, States should strengthen measures, systems and resources to
effectively address all forms of violence against indigenous women, such as female
genital mutilation; child marriage; sexual abuse; forced l abour; modern slavery;
domestic, institutional and political violence, including in the context of forced
displacement; sexual exploitation; trafficking; armed conflict; and the militarization
of indigenous lands and territories.
65. The Permanent Forum urges States and bodies and organizations of the United
Nations system, including the United Nations Environment Programme and the
United Nations Environment Assembly, to include indigenous peoples in a fully
meaningful and effective manner in decision-making processes in all areas aimed at
tackling marine litter and plastic pollution, and landscape/ecosystem degradation,
including in programmes and partnerships and in the future negotiations of
international instruments. Such efforts should include recogniti on of the traditional
knowledge, practices and innovations of indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous
women, in plans and actions to restore landscapes and ecosystems and to address
marine litter and plastic pollution.
66. Considering the continued threats facing indigenous peoples living in voluntary
isolation and initial contact, and given their unique vulnerability in the time of the
pandemic, the Permanent Forum recommends that local populations in the territories
and adjacent areas of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial
contact be prioritized in COVID-19 vaccination plans. The Forum reminds States that,
by virtue of their international obligations, and specifically those contained in the
American Convention on Human Rights, they must adopt measures to safeguard the
life and integrity of their citizens, especially when it comes to highly vulnerable
population groups, as in the case of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation
and initial contact.
67. The Permanent Forum urgently recommends that the Pan American Health
Organization and the World Health Organization (WHO), in cooperation with the
Permanent Forum and other relevant entities, create a permanent working group to
evaluate the ongoing situation of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and
initial contact, and to design, promote and discuss with Governments and other
institutions the implementation of urgent measures for the protection of indigenous
peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial co ntact.
68. The Permanent Forum welcomes the launch of online courses on the rights of
indigenous peoples offered by Columbia University, OHCHR, Tribal Link Foundation,
UNDP and Universidad Indígena Intercultural, and recommends that academic,
indigenous and other organizations and the United Nations system seek ways to
provide access to these courses for indigenous peoples living in remote areas without
Internet or digital devices. Special efforts should be made to make such courses
available in various languages, including indigenous languages, and to make them
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