The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling the Charter of the United Nations and United Nations General Assembly resolution 66/288,
Also recalling the Paris Agreement, decision 1/CP.21 and decision 2/CP.23,
Emphasizing that the purpose and functions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform and its Facilitative Working Group will be carried out consistent with international law,
Also emphasizing, in its entirety, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of the implementation of the functions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform involving indigenous peoples,
Further emphasizing that in the context of the implementation of the functions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform involving local communities, none of the activities should authorize or encourage any action, which will dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States,
1. Decides to establish the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform Facilitative Working Group;
2. Affirms that the Facilitative Working Group is established with the objective of further operationalizing the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform and facilitating the implementation of its functions;
3. Decides that the Facilitative Working Group shall comprise 14 representatives, as follows:
(a) One representative of a Party from each of the five United Nations regional groups;
(b) One representative of a Party from a small island developing State;
(c) One representative of a least developed country Party;
(d) Seven representatives from indigenous peoples organizations, one from each of the seven United Nations indigenous sociocultural regions;
4. Requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to consider, in the context of the review referred to in paragraph 27 below, and taking into account progress related to the representation of local communities, the addition of at least three additional representatives to represent local communities, as well as a process for the appointment of such representatives, and an equal number of Party representatives, with a view to recommending a draft decision on the representation of local communities on the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform for consideration and adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its twenty-seventh session (November 2021);
5. Decides that Party representatives shall be appointed by their respective regional groups and constituencies, and that the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice shall be notified of these appointments;
6. Also decides that indigenous peoples representatives shall be appointed by the indigenous peoples, through their focal points, and that the Chair of the Subsidiary Body of Scientific Technological Advice shall be notified of these appointments;
7. Further decides that, along with each representative, one alternate may be designated, in accordance with the appointment process referred to in paragraphs 3–6 above; the alternate representative will participate in meetings when the representative is unable to attend, and will replace the representative for the remainder of the term if the representative cannot complete the functions of the assigned office;
8. Decides that representatives of the Facilitative Working Group shall serve for a term of three years and shall not be eligible to serve two consecutive terms, and that the representatives shall remain in office until their successors have been elected;
9. Also decides that the Facilitative Working Group shall elect annually two co-chairs and two vice co-chairs from among its representatives to serve for a term of one year each, with one co-chair and one vice co-chair being a representative from a Party and the other cochair and vice co-chair being a representative from indigenous peoples and, as appropriate, local communities;
10. Further decides that the election and rotation of the co-chairs and vice co-chairs will take into account regional geographic balance, and strive for gender balance;
11. Decides that if one of the co-chairs is temporarily unable to fulfil the obligations of the office, the respective vice co-chair shall serve as the co-chair;
12. Also decides that if one of the co-chairs or vice co-chairs is unable to complete the term of office, the Facilitative Working Group shall elect a replacement to complete that term of office, in accordance with paragraphs 9 and 10 above;
13. Invites Parties to promote the engagement of local communities in the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform with a view to enhancing their participation in the Facilitative Working Group and the Platform;
14. Stresses the importance of striving for gender balance in the appointment processes of representatives in accordance with decisions 36/CP.7, 23/CP.18 and 3/CP.23;
15. Decides that the Facilitative Working Group shall operate on the basis of consensus;
16. Invites Parties, local communities and indigenous peoples to take into consideration the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform and its functions at the local, national and regional level in order to enhance the engagement and inclusion of indigenous peoples and local communities to facilitate the exchange of experience and the sharing of best practices and lessons learned on mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner;
17. Decides that the Facilitative Working Group shall meet twice per year in conjunction with the sessions of the subsidiary bodies and the session of the Conference of the Parties;
18. Also decides that the Facilitative Working Group, under the incremental approach, will propose an initial two-year workplan for the period 2020–2021 for implementing the functions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform for consideration by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice at its fifty-first session (November 2019);
19. Further decides that the workplan referred to in paragraph 18 above should take into account experiences from any activities that have already taken place under the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, and that the workplan may include annual in-session events in conjunction with the Conference of the Parties and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, on which summary reports, which could be of a technical nature, would be prepared by the Facilitative Working Group;
20. Encourages the Facilitative Working Group to collaborate with other bodies under and outside the Convention, as appropriate, aiming at enhancing the coherence of the actions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform under the Convention;
21. Requests the secretariat, with the support of the Facilitative Working Group, to make the work of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform widely accessible, including through the development of a dedicated web portal on the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform on the UNFCCC website;
22. Also requests the secretariat to organize a thematic in-session workshop, in conjunction with the fiftieth session (June 2019) of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, on enhancing the participation of local communities, in addition to indigenous peoples, in the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform;
23. Further requests the secretariat to develop, under the incremental approach for the operationalization of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, activities related to the implementation of all three functions of the Platform,1 at each session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice until the workplan is adopted, and invites Parties, observers and other stakeholders to submit their views on possible activities via the submission portal2 by 28 February 2019;
24. Requests the Facilitative Working Group to report on its outcomes, including a draft second three-year workplan, and on the activities of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its twenty-seventh session through the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice at its fiftyfourth session (May to June 2021);
25. Decides to endorse the draft workplan referred to in paragraph 24 above at its twentyseventh session;
26. Requests the secretariat to make the reports referred to in paragraph 24 above publicly available on the UNFCCC website;
27. Decides that the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice will review the outcomes and activities of the Facilitative Working Group, taking into account the report referred to in paragraph 24 above, at its fifty-fourth session and make recommendations to the Conference of the Parties at its twenty-seventh session with a view to adopting a decision on the outcome of this review;
28. Also decides that the initial mandate for the Facilitative Working Group will span three years, to be extended as determined by the review referred to in paragraph 27 above;
29. Further decides that the meetings of the Facilitative Working Group shall be open to Parties and observers under the Convention;
30. Requests the secretariat to support and facilitate the work of the Facilitative Working Group;
31. Takes note of the estimated budgetary implications of the activities to be undertaken by the secretariat referred to in paragraph 30 above;
32. Requests that the actions of the secretariat called for in this decision be undertaken subject to the availability of financial resources;
33. Invites interested Parties and organizations to provide financial and technical support, as appropriate, for the implementation of the functions of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform.
