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in a holistic understanding of health and contingent upon full implementation of the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including free, prior
and informed consent as a non‑negotiable standard rooted in self‑determination.
26. The Permanent Forum expresses grave concern at the disproportionate impact
of armed conflicts on Indigenous Peoples’ health, including documented cases of
threats to the health and lives of Indigenous Peoples by military occupation, military
activities and the conscription of Indigenous Peoples into armed forces.
Recommendations for Member States
27. The Permanent Forum urges Member States to support and resource the drafting
of the WHO Global Plan of Action on the Health of Indigenous Peoples (2027–2040),
which must be grounded in self-determination and free, prior and informed consent,
ensuring that national implementation measures uphold Indigenous Peoples’ rights,
pursuant to the Declaration.
28. Recalling the report of its twenty-fourth session, the Permanent Forum urges
Member States and WHO to adopt and implement a rights-based approach to health,
grounded in the Indigenous determinants of health, as the foundation of national
health policies, the Global Plan of Action and all related programming, technical
guidance and resource allocation, and, by 2028, to develop and adequately resource
Indigenous‑led national action plans on Indigenous health and to invest in Indigenous led health systems and in the governance and delivery of health services, in full
partnership with Indigenous Peoples.
29. The Permanent Forum calls on Member States, by 2027, to implement
ethnicity‑disaggregated data collection based on Indigenous self‑identification,
eliminate residual classifications such as “other” in national health, vital statistics and
sexual and reproductive health data systems, and report on progress through national
statistical offices in partnership with Indigenous Peoples. It also calls on UNFPA and
WHO to develop jointly with Indigenous Peoples, by 2027, technical guidance on
ethnicity‑disaggregated sexual and reproductive health indicators for national and
regional adaptation.
30. The Permanent Forum urges Member States, by 2027, to formally recognize
Indigenous Peoples’ languages as a determinant of health and, by 2028, to allocate
dedicated resources for the translation of national health policies and health‑related
consent documentation into Indigenous Peoples’ languages, and to support the
development in Indigenous Peoples’ languages of medical training and health
education pathways, in partnership with Indigenous Peoples.
31. The Permanent Forum urges Member States, by 2028, to design and implement
targeted social protection and occupational health measures for Indigenous Peoples
engaged in traditional livelihoods under extreme climatic conditions, including early
or flexible retirement options, regular health screening and preventive care,
co‑developed with Indigenous Peoples and implemented with their free, prior and
informed consent.
32. The Permanent Forum calls upon Canada to substantially expand alternatives to
detention, including community-based sentencing, restorative justice programmes
and adequately funded, independently operated Indigenous healing lodges, ensuring
that such alternatives are resourced at parity with conventional custodial institutions.
33. The Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to uphold their obligations
under international treaties with Indigenous Peoples. The Forum further calls upon
New Zealand to recommit to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) and to align all
policies with the Declaration, restoring Māori leadership in health and social policy.
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