E/2014/43 E/C.19/2014/11 Recommendations of the Permanent Forum Special theme: “Principles of good governance consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: articles 3 to 6 and 46” 3. Good governance must be achieved at the international, national, regional and local levels and applies to Governments as well as corporate organizations and other institutions, including the governments and institutions of indigenous peoples. Good governance consists of the following elements or principles, which are interlinked and mutually reinforcing: transparency; responsiveness; consensus-building; equity and inclusiveness; effectiveness and efficiency; accountability; participation; consultation and consent; human rights; and the rule of law. Good governance is about who has access to decision-making and authority with regard to lands, territories and resources that result in revenue and services to peoples. 4. Such principles are key aspects of good governance and yet indigenous peoples continue to face obstacles to exercising their rights in terms of substance, content and procedure. The rights of indigenous peoples must not be empty rights. The practice of good governance, as distinct from the principles, applies to authorities, including those that address matters concerning lands, ter ritories, resources, peoples and citizens, fiscal resources and services. 5. Indigenous peoples in almost all countries have suffered the consequences of exploitation, subjugation and domination by States across the globe. The sixth preambular paragraph of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that “indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a result of, inter alia, their colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories and resources, thus preventing them from exercising, in particular, their right to development in accordance with their own needs and interests”. Such actions from the colonial era continue in many countries today. Whether considered individually or as a whole, the elements or principles of good governance have been achieved by very few countries. 6. Despite that reality, indigenous peoples have demonstrated extraordinary examples of good governance, ranging from the Haudenosaunee to the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples. According to Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, self-determination as the basis of good governance means that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples. 7. The Permanent Forum notes that there are examples of indigenous laws, traditions and customs that represent good governance. There are instances where States have worked with indigenous peoples to develop governance structures that improve conditions in indigenous communities and where indigenous peoples are involved in every stage of project design. Such instances emphasize the importance of indigenous participation in decision-making and the design of governance approaches. The Permanent Forum heard constructive examples from States, including from Nicaragua in relation to the autonomy o f indigenous peoples on the Atlantic coast and from the Government of Denmark in the specific context of the right to self-determination of Greenland. 8. Failure to achieve good governance can have devastating consequences. According to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, “bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within 6/22 14-54937