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Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the work of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Certain countries have developed sectoral laws on specific indigenous peoples’ rights, such as in the fields of language, health and education, or established processes for participation or land rights recognition. The elaboration of legislation to operationalize the State duty to consult indigenous peoples is an ongoing process in Latin America. Peru adopted a law to this effect and discussions on potential new legal instruments are taking place, for instance, in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. Legislation addressing indigenous peoples in particular circumstances, such as isolated indigenous peoples and indigenous peoples in recent contact has also been developed in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. General sectoral laws in some countries consider specific measures related to indigenous peoples. Dialogue processes for the development of new legislation are taking place in several countries, including transnational instruments as the Nordic Sami Convention.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the work of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Adequate policies must meet two basic criteria: they should conform to the international human rights standards on indigenous peoples; and they should be developed in cooperation with them and with their full participation, with the aim of strengthening their self-determination. This may require a reinterpretation of the concept of development in the light of the Declaration, ensuring that the agency of indigenous peoples as development actors is recognized in the reconceptualization of the issues classically addressed by public policies such as economic development, health or education. Public policies that do not conform with international human rights standards on the rights of indigenous peoples are likely to further violate those rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership includes no reference to human rights. While it does refer to the right to regulate in relation to "environmental, health or other regulatory objectives", it qualifies this by holding that measures have to be "consistent with" its investment chapter, effectively reducing the scope of this right to that determined by expansive interpretations of broad investment protections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 29b
- Paragraph text
- [There are examples of profound physical and mental health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example:] Worldwide, over 50 per cent of indigenous adults suffer from type 2 diabetes;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 29c
- Paragraph text
- [There are examples of profound physical and mental health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example:] Indigenous peoples' life expectancy is up to 20 years lower than their non-indigenous counterparts;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 29f
- Paragraph text
- [There are examples of profound physical and mental health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example:] Child mortality rates among indigenous communities are usually above the national average.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Provisions within international investment and free trade agreements can constrict the policy and legislative space in which Governments operate. That has been referred to in literature about international investment agreements as a "chilling effect" whereby the State becomes constrained in its ability to rule in the public interest owing to a wish to avoid sometimes billion-dollar arbitration and settlement costs. As described by the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, "international investment agreements and investor-State dispute settlement systems benefit transnational corporations at the cost of States' sovereign functions of legislation and adjudication" (see A/69/299, para. 4).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Such unequal power relations between indigenous peoples and corporations and States also contribute to endemic levels of poverty among indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples account for 5 per cent of the world's population, while representing 15 per cent of those living in poverty. As many as 33 per cent of all people living in extreme rural poverty globally are from indigenous communities. Those figures are particularly alarming given the wealth of natural resources that are located within indigenous territories. That degree of poverty is a violation of indigenous peoples' rights to development, as well as of their economic and social rights to an adequate standard of living, housing, food, water, health and education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- In addition, as discussed in the upcoming report of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, investor-State dispute settlement tribunals have been used to challenge measures to improve public health. As cited in the Independent Expert's report, in the Philip Morris (Switzerland) v. Uruguay (2010) case, the multinational tobacco company sued Uruguay under the Switzerland-Uruguay bilateral investment treaty claiming that the Uruguayan anti-smoking legislation devalued its investments. The same company also filed a claim against Australia for its efforts to curb tobacco. Public health issues, such as smoking, are currently increasing in indigenous communities, and the prevalence of such problems can be higher than in non-indigenous populations. Therefore, such investor-State dispute settlement claims have the potential to disproportionally affect indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Against the backdrop of growing physical and mental health concerns, non-indigenous health systems often do not take into account the indigenous concept of health, and therefore create barriers to access by indigenous people. Epidemiological data often fails to capture information on indigenous communities and the socioeconomic determinants of health, thereby making them "invisible". If data is included, it is generally not disaggregated, so that the specific needs of indigenous women are not understood in the context of national healthcare policy and planning. In addition, there are often no clear integration mechanisms for health care personnel, communities, traditional healers, policy makers and government officials. Furthermore, the facilities available to indigenous communities and women are also often not suitable to their specific needs and cultural preferences.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- A grave gender-specific health concern is the issue of indigenous women's sexual and reproductive health. Indigenous women face many barriers to sexual and reproductive rights, such as a lack of culturally appropriate sexual and reproductive health advice, geographical access to facilities and lack of supplies, such as contraceptives, poor quality care and, in some cases, legislation banning abortion services, even in cases of pregnancy following rape. That leads to higher-than-average maternal mortality rates; disproportionate representation of indigenous girls in teenage pregnancy indexes; low voluntary contraceptive usage; and high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- There have also been examples of clauses included in international investment agreements to promote sustainable development, which could be helpful in promoting the economic and social rights of indigenous peoples. A review by UNCTAD of the 13 international investment agreements concluded in 2014 for which texts are available (7 bilateral investment treaties and 6 other international investment agreements) showed that most of those recent treaties include sustainable development-oriented features. Of the agreements, 11 have general exceptions; for example, for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health, or for the conservation of exhaustible natural resources. Eleven treaties contain a clause that explicitly recognizes that the parties should not reduce health, safety or environmental standards in order to attract investment. Of those 11 treaties, 9 refer to the protection of health and safety, labour rights, the environment or sustainable development in the preamble.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- There are examples of Latin American countries taking legal steps to protect themselves and their citizens from the impacts of international investment agreements. For example, as outlined by the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Ecuador amended its Constitution to prohibit entry into instruments that waive its sovereign jurisdiction in the arbitration of disputes with private individuals or corporations. Ecuador, the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have also withdrawn from the Convention on the Settlement of Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (see A/69/299, para. 70).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Women acutely feel the low levels of health within indigenous communities. They are disproportionately affected by illness owing to reduced coping capacity caused by the denial of broader rights. Women also play a primary role in overseeing the health and well-being of their families and communities, and can be particularly affected by the suffering of children and other family members. Their gender and role as child-bearers also make them vulnerable to specific health difficulties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous women may also be more vulnerable than non-indigenous women once they are in detention. There have been reports of a lack of women's facilities to accommodate indigenous women, which means that they could be housed with men. That leaves them vulnerable to violence and unable to access gender-specific programmes and support. There have also been reports of racism and discrimination against indigenous women in prisons, as well as inadequate access to health services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 85b
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to United Nations organizations and mechanisms] [United Nations organizations and mechanisms should:] Work with Member States to develop research into underdeveloped areas which particularly impact the rights of indigenous women and girls. Research should be developed on intersecting discrimination and vulnerability and the relationship between individual and collective rights;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur also consulted the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/19/59/Add.5), which provides guiding principles for Member States on ways to ensure that the trade and investment agreements they conclude are consistent with their obligations under international human rights instruments; and the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health to the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly (A/69/299), which includes analysis of the impact of investment agreements on the right to health. In addition, in 2015, 10 mandate holders expressed public concern about the impact of investment and free trade agreements on human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Despite the progress made, systematic attention to the specific vulnerability of indigenous women has remained limited in relation to the scale of abuses against them. Furthermore, what international attention has been given to the issue has not sufficiently focused on the nexus between individual and collective rights, nor on how intersecting forms of discrimination and vulnerability contribute to ongoing abuses of indigenous women's rights. That has created a gap that has contributed to ongoing widespread impunity in relation to the rights of indigenous women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Those trends have a number of implications in relation to the human rights of indigenous women and girls. When looked at through a human rights lens, it is clear that many indigenous women and girls have difficulties with the law because of prior violations of their human rights. Issues associated with disregard for collective and individual indigenous rights - such as abuse of women, mental health problems and poverty - have been identified as causal factors in criminal behaviour among indigenous women. Furthermore, issues relating to indigenous women's access to justice, as discussed below, must be considered within criminal justice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 100 million and 140 million women and girls worldwide have been subjected to female gender mutilation. Female genital mutilation has been documented mainly in Africa, but also in some countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Central and South America. As recognized by WHO, there are no benefits to female genital mutilation; in fact, the procedure can have many negative consequences for women, including infection, complications in childbirth, pain, infertility and cysts, as well as their overall disempowerment within society. There is very little information about the prevalence and drivers of female genital mutilation among indigenous communities, but it is known to take place in some but not all indigenous communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 77b
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States] [With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, Member States should:] Improve access by indigenous peoples, including women and girls, to culturally sensitive health-care services; learn from and build on existing examples of the good practices promoted by the United Nations Population Fund and the Pan American Health Organization to develop an intercultural approach to health; and support reinforcement of traditional healing and health practices of indigenous peoples that have been proven to be effective;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 29a
- Paragraph text
- [There are examples of profound physical and mental health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example:] In the United States of America, a Native American is 600 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than a non-Native American;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 29d
- Paragraph text
- [There are examples of profound physical and mental health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example:] Indigenous peoples experience disproportionately high levels of maternal and infant mortality, malnutrition, cardiovascular illnesses, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 77c
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States] [With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, Member States should:] Pay particular attention to providing a range of sexual and reproductive health services to indigenous women and girls, with their free, prior and informed consent;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 29e
- Paragraph text
- [There are examples of profound physical and mental health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example:] Suicide rates of indigenous peoples, particularly among youth, are considerably higher in many countries. For example, the suicide rate for Inuit in Canada is around 11 times the national average;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 77e
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States] [With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, Member States should:] Invest in research that supports understanding of food insecurity among indigenous communities and develop programmes to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples to food;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 78f
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States] [With regard to civil and political rights, Member States should:] Provide legal aid, interpretation and translation services, and culturally sensitive information about their rights and available remedies to all indigenous women and girls;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to United Nations organizations and mechanisms] In the context of this increasing attention to indigenous peoples, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women develop a general comment on the rights on indigenous women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous women and girls 2015, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Domestic violence can have grave consequences for victims, including mental health problems, substance abuse, severe health issues and difficulties in providing care to children. Those consequences may be felt more acutely by indigenous women owing to lack of access to support services and justice, as well as their specific cultural and economic circumstances.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- International investment agreements also have the potential to negatively affect the realization of a number of the economic and social rights of indigenous peoples. The costs borne by States in defending themselves in investor-State dispute settlement cases and in paying awards when defeated can be extremely high. That diverts public resources, which could limit the ability of States to invest in the realization of economic and social rights. International investment agreements can also drive and maintain the practice of privatizing public services and goods, including health care and water. For example, expropriation and fair and equal treatment clauses could make it prohibitively expensive for Governments to revoke private contracts for the provision of public health services. Given the private sector's poor track record of catering to the needs of the most marginalized and vulnerable, demonstrated, for example, by the privatization of water, the impact on the economic and social rights of indigenous peoples is significant.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph