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African Youth Charter 2006, para. 1d
- Paragraph text
- 1. States Parties shall take the following steps to promote and protect the morals and traditional values recognised by the community: d) Work with educational institutions, youth organisations, the media and other partners to raise awareness of and teach and inform young people about African culture, values and indigenous knowledge;
- Body
- African Union
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa 2003, para. 2c
- Paragraph text
- 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to: c) protect and enable the development of women’s indigenous knowledge systems;
- Body
- African Union
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
African Youth Charter 2006, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- 3. State Parties shall recognize the rights of Young people from ethnic, religious and linguistic marginalized groups or youth of indigenous origin, to enjoy their own culture, freely practice their own religion or to use their own language in community with other members of their group.
- Body
- African Union
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to promote the development of Afro-descendent populations and indigenous peoples by implementing public policies, establishing standards and creating institutions to guide and carry forward affirmative action policies, plans and programmes at the sectoral level, whereby the principles of equality and non-discrimination can be incorporated into all levels of government, with organized civil society participating throughout the process of the design, implementation and evaluation of those instruments;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Adolescents and youth 2012, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Urges Member States to promote equal opportunities for all, to combat all forms of discrimination against young people, including that based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status, and to foster social integration for marginalized groups, such as young persons with disabilities, young migrants and indigenous youth, on an equal basis with others;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1c
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Ensure the realization of the right of indigenous women and girls to education, and promote a multicultural approach to education that is responsive to the needs, aspirations and cultures of indigenous women, including by developing appropriate education programmes, curricula and teaching aids, to the extent possible in the languages of indigenous peoples, by promoting their access to information and communications technologies and by providing for the participation of indigenous women in these processes, and take measures to ensure that indigenous women and girls have the right to equal access to all levels and forms of education without discrimination;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Traffic in women and girls 1997, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Encourages the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women and the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, to continue to pay special attention to the problem of trafficking in women and girl children, and to make available their reports thereon to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-second session;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Recalling the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which addresses their individual and collective rights,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Emphasizing that indigenous women should exercise their rights free from discrimination of any kind,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender and all forms of discrimination, in particular racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2001, para. 1g
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, the United Nations and civil society, as appropriate]: The Platform for Action recognized that women face barriers to full equality and advancement because of such factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion or disability, because they are indigenous women or of other status. Many women encounter specific obstacles related to their family status, particularly as single parents, and their socio-economic status, including their living conditions in rural, isolated or impoverished areas. Additional barriers also exist for refugee women, other displaced women, including internally displaced women, as well as for immigrant women and migrant women, including women migrant workers. Many women are also particularly affected by environmental disasters, serious and infectious diseases and various forms of violence against women;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Eradicating poverty, including through the empowerment of women throughout their life cycle, in a globalizing world 2002, para. 5v
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments [...] to take the following actions to accelerate implementation of these strategic objectives to address the needs of all women:] Undertake socio-economic policies that promote sustainable development and support and ensure poverty eradication programmes, especially for women, by, inter alia, providing skills training, equal access to and control over resources, finance, credit, including microcredit, information and technology and equal access to markets to benefit women of all ages, in particular those living in poverty and marginalized women, including rural women, indigenous women and female-headed households;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Women's empowerment and the link to sustainable development 2016, para. 23v
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Strengthening normative, legal and policy frameworks]: Formulate and implement, in collaboration with indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women and their organizations, policies and programmes designed to promote capacity-building and strengthen their leadership while recognizing the distinct and important role of indigenous women and girls in sustainable development, and prevent and eliminate discrimination and violence against indigenous women and girls, which has a negative impact on their human rights and fundamental freedoms, to which they are disproportionately vulnerable and which constitutes a major impediment to indigenous women's full, equal and effective participation in society, the economy, and political decision-making;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that profound inequalities exist between indigenous women and other groups and that addressing these inequalities through the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session is essential to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Recalling the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol, reaffirming the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, General Assembly resolution 59/174 of 20 December 2004 on the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, the relevant provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and reaffirming the obligation of States to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights by women,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42i
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Realizing women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights]: Encourage the participation of indigenous women and girls in the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, noting the contribution of that conference towards the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, bearing in mind that indigenous women and girls face particular challenges in achieving the Millennium Development Goals;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender and all forms of discrimination, in particular racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2001, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action indicate that many women face additional barriers to the enjoyment of their human rights because of such factors as their race, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability or socio-economic class or because they are indigenous people, migrants, including women migrant workers, displaced women or refugees. Also the outcome documents of the special session of the General Assembly indicate that in situations of armed conflict and foreign occupation, human rights of women have been extensively violated. Among the further actions and initiatives to implement the platform adopted by the special session were several directed at the elimination of racially motivated violence against women and girls.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1e
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Formulate and implement, in consultation and collaboration with indigenous women and their organizations, policies and programmes designed to promote capacity-building processes and strengthen their leadership, and take measures to ensure full and effective participation of indigenous women in decision-making processes at all levels and in all areas, and eliminate barriers for their participation in political, economic, social and cultural life;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Encourages the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and, as appropriate, relevant funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, international financial institutions, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors to take measures to develop, finance, implement and support policies and programmes aimed at promoting the empowerment of indigenous women and their enjoyment of all human rights.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender and all forms of discrimination, in particular racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2001, para. 1i
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, the United Nations and civil society, as appropriate]: Ensure the full and equal opportunity for the sustained participation and representation of indigenous women and girls and women and girls, as appropriate, from culturally diverse backgrounds in all relevant decision-making processes;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Eliminating maternal mortality and morbidity through the empowerment of women 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Encourages Member States and the international community to take measures to protect women and girls, including indigenous and rural women and girls, those living in poverty and those with disabilities, regardless of their immigration status, from gender-based violence and from early and forced marriage, and to fully implement their obligations under national and international law with respect to preventing violence and investigating and punishing the perpetrators, and also encourages Member States and the international community to provide victims with access to appropriate quality, comprehensive, integrated and accessible health-care services and counselling and to primary and secondary education, and to scale up humanitarian and legal assistance to victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence, including when used as a tactic of war, inter alia, to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender and all forms of discrimination, in particular racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2001, para. 2j
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, the United Nations and civil society, as appropriate]: Take measures, as appropriate, to promote and strengthen policies and programmes for indigenous women with their full participation and respect for their cultural diversity, to combat discrimination based on gender and race, to ensure their full enjoyment of all human rights;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Mainstreaming gender equality and promoting empowerment of women in climate change policies and strategies 2011, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Encourages Governments and, as appropriate, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and all relevant actors to facilitate and increase the participation of women, including indigenous women, particularly at the grass-roots level, as decision makers, entrepreneurs, planners, evaluators, managers, scientists, technical advisers at all levels and as beneficiaries in the design, development, implementation and monitoring of all aspects of climate change policies;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, including for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work 2011, para. 22ss
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions, as appropriate:] [Making science and technology responsive to women's needs]: Respect, preserve and maintain women's traditional knowledge and innovation while recognizing the potential of rural and indigenous women to contribute to the production of science and technology and of new knowledge to improve their lives and those of their families and communities;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Mainstreaming gender equality and promoting empowerment of women in climate change policies and strategies 2011, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Recalling Human Rights Council resolution 10/4 of 25 March 2009, which recognizes that while climate change-related impacts have a range of implications, the effects of climate change will be felt most acutely by those segments of the population that are already vulnerable owing to geography, gender, age, indigenous or minority status and disability,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1k
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Collect and disseminate disaggregated data on indigenous women, including those living in rural areas, in order to monitor and improve the impact of development policies and programmes for their well-being;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming also that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Optional Protocol thereto, as well as other relevant international human rights instruments, provide a framework for the promotion and protection of the human rights of indigenous women,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Recalling its resolution 49/7, entitled “Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action”, which calls upon Governments, intergovernmental agencies, the private sector and civil society to take measures that ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous women in all aspects of society,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1b
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Support the economic activities of indigenous women, in consultation with them and taking into account their traditional knowledge, so as to improve their situation and development, in particular by enhancing their equal access to productive resources and agricultural inputs, such as land, seeds, financial services, technology, transportation and information;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Gender
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- The Commission recognizes that the economic empowerment, inclusion and development of indigenous women, including through the establishment of indigenous-owned businesses, can enable them to improve their social, cultural, civil and political engagement, achieve greater economic independence and build more sustainable and resilient communities, and notes the contribution of indigenous peoples to the broader economy.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1h
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Comply with and effectively implement all their human rights obligations so as to ensure the full realization and equal enjoyment of the rights of indigenous women;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1i
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Take concrete measures to provide equal access to justice for indigenous women at all levels, and ensure that indigenous women have equal rights to own land and other property;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Traffic in women and girls 1996, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Welcomes also the request by the General Assembly to the Commission on Human Rights to encourage the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to continue to address the issue of the traffic in women and girls under its draft programme of action on the traffic in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that indigenous women are part of the diversity of the women of the world and that they represent a wide variety of cultures with different needs and concerns,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Welcoming the fact that the theme of the third session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues focused on indigenous women, and taking note of the recommendations, which emphasize equality, non-discrimination, the diversity of cultural identities and social organization of indigenous women and girls,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon Governments to take into account the concerns of indigenous women throughout the implementation, follow-up work and monitoring of the Beijing Platform for Action and the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration;49
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon Governments, intergovernmental agencies, the private sector and civil society to take measures that ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous women in all aspects of society;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Concerned about the extreme disadvantages that indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women, have typically faced across a range of social and economic indicators and the impediments to their full enjoyment of their rights,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1a
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Take particular measures to promote and strengthen policies and programmes for indigenous women with their full participation and respect for their cultural diversity, so that they have the opportunities and the possibility of choice in the development process needed to eradicate the poverty that affects them;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The girl child 1998, para. g
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, educational institutions and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Develop programmes of sensitization on the gender perspective for staff of government offices working on educational issues concerning indigenous and rural girls, and develop educational materials adapted to their situation;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
The girl child 1998, para. h
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, educational institutions and the United Nations system, as appropriate:] Identify the special needs of girls in difficult circumstances, including girls from migrant families, refugee and displaced girls, girls from ethnic minorities, indigenous girls, orphaned girls, girls with disabilities and other girls with special needs, and provide the resources necessary to address their needs;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters 2002, para. 7m
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments [...] to address the needs of all women:] Make women full and equal partners in the development of safer communities and in determining national or local priorities for disaster reduction and incorporate local and indigenous knowledge, skills and capacities into environmental management and disaster reduction;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Traffic in women and girls 1995, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Draws the attention of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to the problem of trafficking in women and girl children;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Stresses the importance of full consultation and collaboration of Governments with indigenous women, while planning and implementing objectives and activities for the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Affirming that indigenous women represent a wide variety of cultures and traditions with different needs and concerns and contribute to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures around the world,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The Commission recalls its multi-year programme of work for the period 2017-2019, according to which it considered the empowerment of indigenous women as the focus area at its sixty-first session and will consider challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls as the priority theme at its sixty-second session.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that a significant number of smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs in developing regions are women, including indigenous women, and that they play a vital role in agricultural and rural development, including by enhancing food security and nutrition for their communities and families,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing also that the involvement, perspectives and traditional knowledge of indigenous women make an important contribution to sustainable development and the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources, such as land, forests, water, seeds and coastal seas,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Stressing the importance of recognizing the distinct and crucial contribution of indigenous women, their knowledge and their vital roles in diverse local economies to poverty eradication, food security and sustainable development,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Human rights of women 1998, para. k
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, non-governmental organizations, employers, trade unions, the private sector and other actors in civil society, as appropriate:] Ensure that indigenous and other marginalized women's special conditions are taken fully into consideration within the framework of the human rights of women;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1g
- Paragraph text
- Respect, preserve and promote, where appropriate, the traditional knowledge of indigenous women with respect to medicine, including the conservation of their vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: beyond the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2005, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Calls for effective international cooperation to improve the situation of indigenous women and girls;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Concerned also that the adverse impacts of climate change on women and girls, including indigenous women, can be exacerbated by gender inequality, discrimination and poverty,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1d
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Provide support, investment and technical assistance for the training of indigenous women, and support women's organizations and cooperatives, which contribute to promoting mutual support and leadership;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1f
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Take concrete measures to provide and enhance equal access and enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health for indigenous women, including sexual and reproductive health, and access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation, and safe cooking and heating;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1j
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States to:] Recognize that poverty and discrimination increase the conditions that generate violence against women, and take actions at the national, local and community levels to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against indigenous women;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Encourages States to support the participation of indigenous women in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also called Rio+20, and in the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly that is to be called the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be held in 2014;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, and the declarations adopted by the Commission on the occasion of the tenth and fifteenth anniversaries of the Fourth World Conference on Women,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Emphasizing also that the United Nations has an important and continuing role to play in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, and the empowerment of indigenous women and their enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women's economic empowerment 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing the crucial role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating poverty, inter alia, adding value to local agricultural produce,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Stressing the importance of promoting and pursuing the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples also through international cooperation in supporting national and regional efforts to achieve the ends of the Declaration, including the right to maintain and strengthen the distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions of indigenous peoples and the right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Expressing deep concern about the increasing feminization of poverty, emphasizing that the empowerment of women, including indigenous women, is a critical factor in the eradication of poverty and that the implementation of special measures aimed at empowering women can help to achieve this objective, and recognizing that poverty of women, including indigenous women, is directly related, inter alia, to the absence of economic opportunities and of autonomy, lack of access to economic resources, lack of access to education and support services, and minimal participation in the decision-making process,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, including for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work 2011, para. 22k
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions, as appropriate:] [Strengthening national legislation, policies and programmes]: Continue to strengthen policies relevant for women's economic empowerment aimed at addressing inequality affecting women and girls, in access to and achievement in education at all levels, including in science and technology, in particular to eliminate inequalities related to age, poverty, geographical location, language, ethnicity, disability, and race, or because they are indigenous people, or people living with HIV and AIDS;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work 2017, para. 40 (gg)
- Paragraph text
- Take measures to promote the economic empowerment of indigenous women, including by ensuring access to quality and inclusive education and meaningful participation in the economy by addressing the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and barriers they face, including violence, and promote their participation in relevant decision-making processes at all levels and in all areas, while respecting and protecting their traditional and ancestral knowledge, and noting the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for indigenous women and girls;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Mainstreaming gender equality and promoting empowerment of women in climate change policies and strategies 2011, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Underscoring that gender equality and the effective participation of women and indigenous peoples are important for effective action on all aspects of climate change, and welcoming in this regard the attention given to such mainstreaming and participation in the outcome of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Cancun, Mexico,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women and the environment 1997, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Women have an essential role to play in the development of sustainable and ecologically sound consumption and production patterns and approaches to natural resource management. The knowledge and expertise of women, especially of rural women and indigenous women, in the use and the protection of natural resources should be recognized, consolidated, protected and fully used in the design and implementation of policies and programmes for the management of the environment.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Violence against women 1998, para. d
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments and the international community:] Integrate effective actions to end violence against women into all areas of public and private life, as a means of working to overcome the violence and discrimination that women face because of such factors as race, language, ethnicity, poverty, culture, religion, age, disability and socio-economic class or because they are indigenous people, migrants, including women migrant workers, displaced women or refugees;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1998
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Encourages States, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector and civil society to take appropriate measures to promote the rights of indigenous peoples, and respect their cultures, lands, territories and resources and their contribution to sustainable development;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Eliminating demand for trafficked women and girls for all forms of exploitation 2005, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Also concerned that multiple forms of discrimination and conditions of disadvantage contribute to the vulnerability of women and girls to trafficking, and that indigenous, refugee, internally displaced and migrant women and girls may be particularly at risk,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The Commission reaffirms that indigenous women often suffer multiple forms of discrimination and poverty which increase their vulnerability to all forms of violence; and stresses the need to seriously address violence against indigenous women and girls.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication 2012, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Concerned further that indigenous women often suffer from multiple forms of discrimination and poverty which increase their vulnerability to all forms of violence,
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Continual evaluation is therefore a crucial component of effective measures. The Committee has consistently recommended that States parties provide data disaggregated by age, gender and other key factors in their reports to enable the Committee to adequately evaluate the implementation of the Convention. Disaggregated data permits the States parties and the Committee to identify, compare and take steps to remedy discriminatory treatment that may otherwise go unnoticed and unaddressed. States parties are requested to describe, as far as possible, factors affecting the incidence and prevention of torture or ill-treatment, as well as the difficulties experienced in preventing torture or ill-treatment against specific relevant sectors of the population, such as minorities, victims of torture, children and women, taking into account the general and particular forms that such torture and ill-treatment may take.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Eliminating employment discrimination and conducting ongoing sensitization training in contexts where torture or ill-treatment is likely to be committed is also key to preventing such violations and building a culture of respect for women and minorities. States are encouraged to promote the hiring of persons belonging to minority groups and women, particularly in the medical, educational, prison/detention, law enforcement, judicial and legal fields, within State institutions as well as the private sector. States parties should include in their reports information on their progress in these matters, disaggregated by gender, race, national origin, and other relevant status.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The principle of non-discrimination is a basic and general principle in the protection of human rights and fundamental to the interpretation and application of the Convention. States parties shall ensure that access to justice and to mechanisms for seeking and obtaining redress are readily available and that positive measures ensure that redress is equally accessible to all persons regardless of race, colour, ethnicity, age, religious belief or affiliation, political or other opinion, national or social origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or other disability, health status, economic or indigenous status, reason for which the person is detained, including persons accused of political offences or terrorist acts, asylum-seekers, refugees or others under international protection, or any other status or adverse distinction, and including those marginalized or made vulnerable on bases such as those above. Culturally sensitive collective reparation measures shall be available for groups with shared identity, such as minority groups, indigenous groups, and others. The Committee notes that collective measures do not exclude the individual right to redress.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16f
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons and returnees have access to adequate water whether they stay in camps or in urban and rural areas. Refugees and asylum-seekers should be granted the right to water on the same conditions as granted to nationals;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16g
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Prisoners and detainees are provided with sufficient and safe water for their daily individual requirements, taking note of the requirements of international humanitarian law and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- While compliance with the Covenant is mainly the responsibility of States parties, all members of civil society - individuals, groups, communities, minorities, indigenous -peoples, religious bodies, private organizations, business and civil society in general - also have responsibilities in relation to the effective implementation of the right of everyone to take part in cultural life. States parties should regulate the responsibility incumbent upon the corporate sector and other non-State actors with regard to the respect for this right.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (Art. 15, para. 1 (c)) 2005, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- With regard to the right to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of indigenous peoples, States parties should adopt measures to ensure the effective protection of the interests of indigenous peoples relating to their productions, which are often expressions of their cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. In adopting measures to protect scientific, literary and artistic productions of indigenous peoples, States parties should take into account their preferences. Such protection might include the adoption of measures to recognize, register and protect the individual or collective authorship of indigenous peoples under national intellectual property rights regimes and should prevent the unauthorized use of scientific, literary and artistic productions of indigenous peoples by third parties. In implementing these protection measures, States parties should respect the principle of free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous authors concerned and the oral or other customary forms of transmission of scientific, literary or artistic production; where appropriate, they should provide for the collective administration by indigenous peoples of the benefits derived from their productions.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to promote requires States parties to take effective steps to ensure that there is appropriate education and public awareness concerning the right to take part in cultural life, particularly in rural and deprived urban areas, or in relation to the specific situation of, inter alia, minorities and indigenous peoples. This includes education and awareness-raising on the need to respect cultural heritage and cultural diversity.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that indigenous peoples have access to effective remedies, both judicial and non-judicial, for all infringements of their individual and collective rights. These remedies should be sensitive to indigenous cultures and accessible to indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing 1991, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has been able to accumulate a large amount of information pertaining to this right. Since 1979, the Committee and its predecessors have examined 75 reports dealing with the right to adequate housing. The Committee has also devoted a day of general discussion to the issue at each of its third (see E/1989/22, para. 312) and fourth sessions (E/1990/23, paras. 281 285). In addition, the Committee has taken careful note of information generated by the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (1987) including the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 42/191 of 11 December 1987. The Committee has also reviewed relevant reports and other documentation of the Commission on Human Rights and the Sub Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1991
Paragraph
Forced evictions 1997, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Women, children, youth, older persons, indigenous people, ethnic and other minorities, and other vulnerable individuals and groups all suffer disproportionately from the practice of forced eviction. Women in all groups are especially vulnerable given the extent of statutory and other forms of discrimination which often apply in relation to property rights (including home ownership) or rights of access to property or accommodation, and their particular vulnerability to acts of violence and sexual abuse when they are rendered homeless. The non discrimination provisions of articles 2.2 and 3 of the Covenant impose an additional obligation upon Governments to ensure that, where evictions do occur, appropriate measures are taken to ensure that no form of discrimination is involved.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
The right to adequate food (Art. 11) 1999, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- In response to these requests, the Committee reviewed the relevant reports and documentation of the Commission on Human Rights and of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities on the right to adequate food as a human right; devoted a day of general discussion to this issue at its seventh session in 1997, taking into consideration the draft international code of conduct on the human right to adequate food prepared by international nongovernmental organizations; participated in two expert consultations on the right to adequate food as a human right organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in Geneva in December 1997, and in Rome in November 1998 co-hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and noted their final reports. In April 1999 the Committee participated in a symposium on "The substance and politics of a human rights approach to food and nutrition policies and programmes", organized by the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination/Sub-Committee on Nutrition of the United Nations at its twenty-sixth session in Geneva and hosted by OHCHR.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16d
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Indigenous peoples' access to water resources on their ancestral lands is protected from encroachment and unlawful pollution. States should provide resources for indigenous peoples to design, deliver and control their access to water;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16e
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Nomadic and traveller communities have access to adequate water at traditional and designated halting sites;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes the importance of ensuring sustainable access to water resources for agriculture to realize the right to adequate food (see General Comment No.12 (1999)). Attention should be given to ensuring that disadvantaged and marginalized farmers, including women farmers, have equitable access to water and water management systems, including sustainable rain harvesting and irrigation technology. Taking note of the duty in article 1, paragraph 2, of the Covenant, which provides that a people may not "be deprived of its means of subsistence", States parties should ensure that there is adequate access to water for subsistence farming and for securing the livelihoods of indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (Art. 15, para. 1 (c)) 2005, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The Committee considers that "any scientific, literary or artistic production", within the meaning of article 15, paragraph 1 (c), refers to creations of the human mind, that is to "scientific productions", such as scientific publications and innovations, including knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities, and "literary and artistic productions", such as, inter alia, poems, novels, paintings, sculptures, musical compositions, theatrical and cinematographic works, performances and oral traditions.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 52a
- Paragraph text
- [States parties are under an obligation to facilitate the right of everyone to take part in cultural life by taking a wide range of positive measures, including financial measures, that would contribute to the realization of this right, such as:] Adopting policies for the protection and promotion of cultural diversity, and facilitating access to a rich and diversified range of cultural expressions, including through, inter alia, measures aimed at establishing and supporting public institutions and the cultural infrastructure necessary for the implementation of such policies; and measures aimed at enhancing diversity through public broadcasting in regional and minority languages;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Effective access to justice for indigenous peoples may require States parties to recognize the customary laws, traditions and practices of indigenous peoples and customary ownership over their lands and natural resources in judicial proceedings. States parties should also ensure the use of indigenous languages and/or interpreters in courts and the availability of legal services and information on remedies in indigenous languages, as well as providing training to court officials on indigenous history, legal traditions and customs.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 12b (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [The right to health in all its forms and at all levels contains the following interrelated and essential elements, the precise application of which will depend on the conditions prevailing in a particular State party:] Accessibility. Health facilities, goods and services have to be accessible to everyone without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State party. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions: Physical accessibility: health facilities, goods and services must be within safe physical reach for all sections of the population, especially vulnerable or marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities and indigenous populations, women, children, adolescents, older persons, persons with disabilities and persons with HIV/AIDS. Accessibility also implies that medical services and underlying determinants of health, such as safe and potable water and adequate sanitation facilities, are within safe physical reach, including in rural areas. Accessibility further includes adequate access to buildings for persons with disabilities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 12c
- Paragraph text
- [The right to health in all its forms and at all levels contains the following interrelated and essential elements, the precise application of which will depend on the conditions prevailing in a particular State party:] Acceptability. All health facilities, goods and services must be respectful of medical ethics and culturally appropriate, i.e. respectful of the culture of individuals, minorities, peoples and communities, sensitive to gender and life-cycle requirements, as well as being designed to respect confidentiality and improve the health status of those concerned.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 16e
- Paragraph text
- [The following are necessary conditions for the full realization of the right of everyone to take part in cultural life on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.] Appropriateness refers to the realization of a specific human right in a way that is pertinent and suitable to a given cultural modality or context, that is, respectful of the culture and cultural rights of individuals and communities, including minorities and indigenous peoples. The Committee has in many instances referred to the notion of cultural appropriateness (or cultural acceptability or adequacy) in past general comments, in relation in particular to the rights to food, health, water, housing and education. The way in which rights are implemented may also have an impact on cultural life and cultural diversity. The Committee wishes to stress in this regard the need to take into account, as far as possible, cultural values attached to, inter alia, food and food consumption, the use of water, the way health and education services are provided and the way housing is designed and constructed.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Individuals belonging to particular groups may be disproportionately affected by intersectional discrimination in the context of sexual and reproductive health. As identified by the Committee, groups such as, but not limited to, poor women, persons with disabilities, migrants, indigenous or other ethnic minorities, adolescents, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and people living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to experience multiple discrimination. Trafficked and sexually exploited women, girls and boys are subject to violence, coercion and discrimination in their everyday lives, with their sexual and reproductive health at great risk. Also, women and girls living in conflict situations are disproportionately exposed to a high risk of violation of their rights, including through systematic rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and forced sterilization. Measures to guarantee non-discrimination and substantive equality should be cognizant of and seek to overcome the often exacerbated impact that intersectional discrimination has on the realization of the right to sexual and reproductive health.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to respect economic, social and cultural rights is violated when States parties prioritize the interests of business entities over Covenant rights without adequate justification, or when they pursue policies that negatively affect such rights. This may occur for instance when forced evictions are ordered in the context of investment projects. Indigenous peoples’ cultural values and rights associated with their ancestral lands are particularly at risk. States parties and businesses should respect the principle of free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples in relation to all matters that could affect their rights, including their lands, territories and resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Minorities, as well as persons belonging to minorities, have the right not only to their own identity but also to development in all areas of cultural life. Any programme intended to promote the constructive integration of minorities and persons belonging to minorities into the society of a State party should thus be based on inclusion, participation and non discrimination, with a view to preserving the distinctive character of minority cultures.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 52f
- Paragraph text
- [States parties are under an obligation to facilitate the right of everyone to take part in cultural life by taking a wide range of positive measures, including financial measures, that would contribute to the realization of this right, such as:] Taking appropriate measures or programmes to support minorities or other communities, including migrant communities, in their efforts to preserve their culture;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right to education (Art. 13) 1999, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The prohibition against discrimination enshrined in article 2 (2) of the Covenant is subject to neither progressive realization nor the availability of resources; it applies fully and immediately to all aspects of education and encompasses all internationally prohibited grounds of discrimination. The Committee interprets articles 2 (2) and 3 in the light of the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education, the relevant provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (Convention No. 169), and wishes to draw particular attention to the following issues.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16a
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Women are not excluded from decision-making processes concerning water resources and entitlements. The disproportionate burden women bear in the collection of water should be alleviated;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16b
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Children are not prevented from enjoying their human rights due to the lack of adequate water in educational institutions and households or through the burden of collecting water. Provision of adequate water to educational institutions currently without adequate drinking water should be addressed as a matter of urgency;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16c
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Rural and deprived urban areas have access to properly maintained water facilities. Access to traditional water sources in rural areas should be protected from unlawful encroachment and pollution. Deprived urban areas, including informal human settlements, and homeless persons, should have access to properly maintained water facilities. No household should be denied the right to water on the grounds of their housing or land status;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination on the basis of language or regional accent is often closely linked to unequal treatment on the basis of national or ethnic origin. Language barriers can hinder the enjoyment of many Covenant rights, including the right to participate in cultural life as guaranteed by article 15 of the Covenant. Therefore, information about public services and goods, for example, should also be available, as far as possible, in languages spoken by minorities, and States parties should ensure that any language requirements relating to employment and education are based on reasonable and objective criteria.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In the Committee's view, article 15, paragraph 1 (a) of the Covenant also includes the right of minorities and of persons belonging to minorities to take part in the cultural life of society, and also to conserve, promote and develop their own culture. This right entails the obligation of States parties to recognize, respect and protect minority cultures as an essential component of the identity of the States themselves. Consequently, minorities have the right to their cultural diversity, traditions, customs, religion, forms of education, languages, communication media (press, radio, television, Internet) and other manifestations of their cultural identity and membership.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 10b
- Paragraph text
- [Both direct and indirect forms of differential treatment can amount to discrimination under article 2, paragraph 2, of the Covenant:] Indirect discrimination refers to laws, policies or practices which appear neutral at face value, but have a disproportionate impact on the exercise of Covenant rights as distinguished by prohibited grounds of discrimination. For instance, requiring a birth registration certificate for school enrolment may discriminate against ethnic minorities or non-nationals who do not possess, or have been denied, such certificates.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 49d
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to respect includes the adoption of specific measures aimed at achieving respect for the right of everyone, individually or in association with others or within a community or group:] To have access to their own cultural and linguistic heritage and to that of others; In particular, States must respect free access by minorities to their own culture, heritage and other forms of expression, as well as the free exercise of their cultural identity and practices. This includes the right to be taught about one's own culture as well as those of others. States parties must also respect the rights of indigenous peoples to their culture and heritage and to maintain and strengthen their spiritual relationship with their ancestral lands and other natural resources traditionally owned, occupied or used by them, and indispensable to their cultural life.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Finally, the Committee draws the attention of States parties to the challenges facing human rights defenders. The Committee has regularly come across accounts of threats and attacks aimed at those seeking to protect their own or others’ Covenant rights, particularly in the context of extractive and development projects. In addition, trade union leaders, leaders of peasant movements, indigenous leaders and anti-corruption activists are often subject to the risk of harassment. States parties should take all measures necessary to protect human rights advocates and their work. They should refrain from resorting to criminal prosecution to hinder their work, or from otherwise obstructing their work.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In discharging their duty to protect, States parties should both create appropriate regulatory and policy frameworks and enforce such frameworks. Therefore, effective monitoring, investigation and accountability mechanisms must be put in place to ensure accountability and access to remedies, preferably judicial remedies, for those whose Covenant rights have been violated in the context of business activities. States parties should inform individuals and groups of their rights and the remedies accessible to them pertaining to the Covenant rights in the context of business activities, ensuring specifically that information and guidance, including human rights impact assessments, are accessible to indigenous peoples. They also should provide businesses with relevant information, training and support, ensuring that they are made aware of the duties of the State under the Covenant.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Non-judicial mechanisms for indigenous victims should be developed with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions. As with judicial remedies, States parties should address barriers to indigenous peoples accessing the mechanism, including language barriers.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to education (Art. 13) 1999, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In relation to article 13 (2), States have obligations to respect, protect and fulfil each of the "essential features" (availability, accessibility, acceptability, adaptability) of the right to education. By way of illustration, a State must respect the availability of education by not closing private schools; protect the accessibility of education by ensuring that third parties, including parents and employers, do not stop girls from going to school; fulfil (facilitate) the acceptability of education by taking positive measures to ensure that education is culturally appropriate for minorities and indigenous peoples, and of good quality for all; fulfil (provide) the adaptability of education by designing and providing resources for curricula which reflect the contemporary needs of students in a changing world; and fulfil (provide) the availability of education by actively developing a system of schools, including building classrooms, delivering programmes, providing teaching materials, training teachers and paying them domestically competitive salaries.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The right to work (Art. 6) 2005, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- States parties are under the obligation to respect the right to work by, inter alia, prohibiting forced or compulsory labour and refraining from denying or limiting equal access to decent work for all persons, especially disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, including prisoners or detainees, members of minorities and migrant workers. In particular, States parties are bound by the obligation to respect the right of women and young persons to have access to decent work and thus to take measures to combat discrimination and to promote equal access and opportunities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 50c
- Paragraph text
- [In many instances, the obligations to respect and to protect freedoms, cultural heritage and diversity are interconnected. Consequently, the obligation to protect is to be understood as requiring States to take measures to prevent third parties from interfering in the exercise of rights listed in paragraph 49 above. In addition, States parties are obliged to:] Respect and protect the cultural productions of indigenous peoples, including their traditional knowledge, natural medicines, folklore, rituals and other forms of expression; This includes protection from illegal or unjust exploitation of their lands, territories and resources by State entities or private or transnational enterprises and corporations.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The Committee wishes to recall in this regard that educational programmes of States parties should respect the cultural specificities of national or ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities as well as indigenous peoples, and incorporate in those programmes their history, knowledge and technologies, as well as their social, economic and cultural values and aspirations. Such programmes should be included in school curricula for all, not only for minorities and indigenous peoples. States parties should adopt measures and spare no effort to ensure that educational programmes for minorities and indigenous groups are conducted on or in their own language, taking into consideration the wishes expressed by communities and in the international human rights standards in this area. Educational programmes should also transmit the necessary knowledge to enable everyone to participate fully and on an equal footing in their own and in national communities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (Art. 15, para. 1 (c)) 2005, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- States parties in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist are under an obligation to protect the moral and material interests of authors belonging to these minorities through special measures to preserve the distinctive character of minority cultures.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
The right to social security (Art. 9) 2007, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take particular care that indigenous peoples and ethnic and linguistic minorities are not excluded from social security systems through direct or indirect discrimination, particularly through the imposition of unreasonable eligibility conditions or lack of adequate access to information.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has consistently raised concern over formal and substantive discrimination across a wide range of Covenant rights against indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities among others.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (Art. 15, para. 1 (c)) 2005, para. 18b (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [The right to the protection of the moral and material interests of authors contains the following essential and interrelated elements, the precise application of which will depend on the economic, social and cultural conditions prevailing in a particular State party:] [Accessibility. Administrative, judicial or other appropriate remedies for the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from scientific, literary or artistic productions must be accessible to all authors. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions:] Accessibility of information: accessibility includes the right to seek, receive and impart information on the structure and functioning of the legal or policy regime to protect the moral and material interests of authors resulting from their scientific, literary and artistic productions, including information on relevant legislation and procedures. Such information should be understandable to everyone and should be published also in the languages of linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- All facilities, goods, information and services related to sexual and reproductive health must be respectful of the culture of individuals, minorities, peoples and communities and sensitive to gender, age, disability, sexual diversity and life-cycle requirements. However, this cannot be used to justify the refusal to provide tailored facilities, goods, information and services to specific groups.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The right of everyone to take part in cultural life is also recognized in article 27, paragraph 1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community". Other international instruments refer to the right to equal participation in cultural activities; the right to participate in all aspects of social and cultural life; the right to participate fully in cultural and artistic life; the right of access to and participation in cultural life; and the right to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life. Instruments on civil and political rights, on the rights of persons belonging to minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, and to participate effectively in cultural life, on the rights of indigenous peoples to their cultural institutions, ancestral lands, natural resources and traditional knowledge, and on the right to development also contain important provisions on this subject.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right to social security (Art. 9) 2007, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to promote obliges the State party to take steps to ensure that there is appropriate education and public awareness concerning access to social security schemes, particularly in rural and deprived urban areas, or amongst linguistic and other minorities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that, where appropriate, the impacts of business activities on indigenous peoples specifically (in particular, actual or potential adverse impacts on indigenous peoples’ rights to land, resources, territories, cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and culture) are incorporated into human rights impact assessments. In exercising human rights due diligence, businesses should consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through indigenous peoples’ own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before the commencement of activities. Such consultations should allow for identification of the potentially negative impact of the activities and of the measures to mitigate and compensate for such impact. They should also lead to design mechanisms for sharing the benefits derived from the activities, since companies are bound by their duty to respect indigenous rights to establish mechanisms that ensure that indigenous peoples share in the benefits generated by the activities developed on their traditional territories.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (Art. 15, para. 1 (c)) 2005, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Violations of the obligation to protect follow from the failure of a State to take all necessary measures to safeguard authors within their jurisdiction from infringements of their moral and material interests by third parties. This category includes such omissions as the failure to enact and/or enforce legislation prohibiting any use of scientific, literary or artistic productions that is incompatible with the right of authors to be recognized as the creator of their productions or that distorts, mutilates or otherwise modifies, or is derogatory towards, such productions in a manner that would be prejudicial to their honour or reputation or that unjustifiably interferes with those material interests that are necessary to enable authors to enjoy an adequate standard of living; and the failure to ensure that third parties adequately compensate authors, including indigenous authors, for any unreasonable prejudice suffered as a consequence of the unauthorized use of their scientific, literary and artistic productions.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
The right to adequate food (Art. 11) 1999, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Accessibility encompasses both economic and physical accessibility: Economic accessibility implies that personal or household financial costs associated with the acquisition of food for an adequate diet should be at a level such that the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs are not threatened or compromised. Economic accessibility applies to any acquisition pattern or entitlement through which people procure their food and is a measure of the extent to which it is satisfactory for the enjoyment of the right to adequate food. Socially vulnerable groups such as landless persons and other particularly impoverished segments of the population may need attention through special programmes. Physical accessibility implies that adequate food must be accessible to everyone, including physically vulnerable individuals, such as infants and young children, elderly people, the physically disabled, the terminally ill and persons with persistent medical problems, including the mentally ill. Victims of natural disasters, people living in disaster-prone areas and other specially disadvantaged groups may need special attention and sometimes priority consideration with respect to accessibility of food. A particular vulnerability is that of many indigenous population groups whose access to their ancestral lands may be threatened.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Infants
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 16a
- Paragraph text
- [The following are necessary conditions for the full realization of the right of everyone to take part in cultural life on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.] Availability is the presence of cultural goods and services that are open for everyone to enjoy and benefit from, including libraries, museums, theatres, cinemas and sports stadiums; literature, including folklore, and the arts in all forms; the shared open spaces essential to cultural interaction, such as parks, squares, avenues and streets; nature's gifts, such as seas, lakes, rivers, mountains, forests and nature reserves, including the flora and fauna found there, which give nations their character and biodiversity; intangible cultural goods, such as languages, customs, traditions, beliefs, knowledge and history, as well as values, which make up identity and contribute to the cultural diversity of individuals and communities. Of all the cultural goods, one of special value is the productive intercultural kinship that arises where diverse groups, minorities and communities can freely share the same territory;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 55e
- Paragraph text
- [In its general comment No. 3 (1990), the Committee stressed that States parties have a minimum core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights set out in the Covenant. Thus, in accordance with the Covenant and other international instruments dealing with human rights and the protection of cultural diversity, the Committee considers that article 15, paragraph 1 (a), of the Covenant entails at least the obligation to create and promote an environment within which a person individually, or in association with others, or within a community or group, can participate in the culture of their choice, which includes the following core obligations applicable with immediate effect:]To allow and encourage the participation of persons belonging to minority groups, indigenous peoples or to other communities in the design and implementation of laws and policies that affect them. In particular, States parties should obtain their free and informed prior consent when the preservation of their cultural resources, especially those associated with their way of life and cultural expression, are at risk.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- This obligation also requires directing the efforts of business entities towards the fulfilment of Covenant rights. In designing a framework on intellectual property rights, for instance, that is consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress stipulated in article 15 of the Covenant, States parties should ensure that intellectual property rights do not lead to denial or restriction of everyone’s access to essential medicines necessary for the enjoyment of the right to health, or to productive resources such as seeds, access to which is crucial to the right to food and to farmers’ rights. States parties should also recognize and protect the right of indigenous peoples to control the intellectual property over their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. In supporting research and development for new products and services, States parties should aim at the fulfilment of Covenant rights, for instance by supporting the development of universally designed goods, services, equipment and facilities, to advance the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Certain segments of the population face a greater risk of suffering intersectional and multiple discrimination. For instance, investment-linked evictions and displacements often result in physical and sexual violence against, and inadequate compensation and additional burdens related to resettlement for, women and girls. In the course of such investment-linked evictions and displacements, indigenous women and girls face discrimination both due to their gender and because they identify as indigenous people. In addition, women are overrepresented in the informal economy and are less likely to enjoy labour-related and social security protections. Furthermore, despite some improvement, women continue to be underrepresented in corporate decision-making processes worldwide. The Committee therefore recommends that States parties address the specific impacts of business activities on women and girls, including indigenous women and girls, and incorporate a gender perspective into all measures to regulate business activities that may adversely affect economic, social and cultural rights, including by consulting the Guidance on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights. States parties should also take appropriate steps, including through temporary special measures, to improve women’s representation in the labour market, including at the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16h
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Groups facing difficulties with physical access to water, such as older persons, persons with disabilities, victims of natural disasters, persons living in disaster-prone areas, and those living in arid and semi-arid areas, or on small islands are provided with safe and sufficient water.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The decision by a person whether or not to exercise the right to take part in cultural life individually, or in association with others, is a cultural choice and, as such, should be recognized, respected and protected on the basis of equality. This is especially important for all indigenous peoples, who have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- In order to eliminate substantive discrimination, States parties may be, and in some cases are, under an obligation to adopt special measures to attenuate or suppress conditions that perpetuate discrimination. Such measures are legitimate to the extent that they represent reasonable, objective and proportional means to redress de facto discrimination and are discontinued when substantive equality has been sustainably achieved. Such positive measures may exceptionally, however, need to be of a permanent nature, such as interpretation services for linguistic minorities and reasonable accommodation of persons with sensory impairments in accessing health-care facilities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous peoples have the right to act collectively to ensure respect for their right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literature, designs, sports and traditional games, and visual and performing arts. States parties should respect the principle of free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples in all matters covered by their specific rights.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Among the groups that are often disproportionately affected by the adverse impact of business activities are women, children, indigenous peoples, particularly in relation to the development, utilization or exploitation of lands and natural resources, peasants, fisherfolk and other people working in rural areas, and ethnic or religious minorities where these minorities are politically disempowered. Persons with disabilities are also often disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of business activities, in particular because they face particular barriers in accessing accountability and remedy mechanisms. As noted by the Committee on previous occasions, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants are at particular risk of facing discrimination in the enjoyment of Covenant rights due to their precarious situation, and under article 7 of the Covenant, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, long working hours, unfair wages and dangerous and unhealthy working environments.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In the light of emerging international law and practice and the recent measures taken by States in relation to indigenous peoples, the Committee deems it useful to identify elements that would help to define indigenous peoples' right to health in order better to enable States with indigenous peoples to implement the provisions contained in article 12 of the Covenant. The Committee considers that indigenous peoples have the right to specific measures to improve their access to health services and care. These health services should be culturally appropriate, taking into account traditional preventive care, healing practices and medicines. States should provide resources for indigenous peoples to design, deliver and control such services so that they may enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals necessary to the full enjoyment of health of indigenous peoples should also be protected. The Committee notes that, in indigenous communities, the health of the individual is often linked to the health of the society as a whole and has a collective dimension. In this respect, the Committee considers that development related activities that lead to the displacement of indigenous peoples against their will from their traditional territories and environment, denying them their sources of nutrition and breaking their symbiotic relationship with their lands, has a deleterious effect on their health.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 52c
- Paragraph text
- [States parties are under an obligation to facilitate the right of everyone to take part in cultural life by taking a wide range of positive measures, including financial measures, that would contribute to the realization of this right, such as:] Promoting the exercise of the right of association for cultural and linguistic minorities for the development of their cultural and linguistic rights;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take measures to guarantee that the exercise of the right to take part in cultural life takes due account of the values of cultural life, which may be strongly communal or which can only be expressed and enjoyed as a community by indigenous peoples. The strong communal dimension of indigenous peoples' cultural life is indispensable to their existence, well being and full development, and includes the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired. Indigenous peoples' cultural values and rights associated with their ancestral lands and their relationship with nature should be regarded with respect and protected, in order to prevent the degradation of their particular way of life, including their means of subsistence, the loss of their natural resources and, ultimately, their cultural identity. States parties must therefore take measures to recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples to own, develop, control and use their communal lands, territories and resources, and, where they have been otherwise inhabited or used without their free and informed consent, take steps to return these lands and territories.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57b
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Address the specific risks and particular needs of different groups of internally displaced and refugee women who are subjected to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including women with disabilities, older women, girls, widows, women who head households, pregnant women, women living with HIV/AIDS, rural women, indigenous women, women belonging to ethnic, national, sexual or religious minorities, and women human rights defenders;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Provide protection and assistance for internally displaced and refugee women and girls, including by safeguarding them from gender-based violence, including forced and child marriage; ensure their equal access to services and health care and full participation in the distribution of supplies, as well as in the development and implementation of assistance programmes that take into account their specific needs; provide protection against the displacement of indigenous, rural and minority women with special dependency on land; and ensure education and income-generation and skills training activities are available;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has observed a range of models through which practices embedded in plural justice systems can be harmonized with the Convention in order to minimize conflicts of laws and guarantee that women have access to justice. They include the adoption of legislation that clearly defines the relationship between existing plural justice systems, the creation of State review mechanisms and the formal recognition and codification of religious, customary, indigenous, community and other systems. Joint efforts by States parties and non-State actors will be necessary to examine ways in which plural justice systems can work together to reinforce protection for women's rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 64a
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that, in cooperation with non-State actors, States parties:] Take immediate steps, including capacity-building and training programmes on the Convention and women's rights, for justice system personnel, to ensure that religious, customary, indigenous and community justice systems harmonize their norms, procedures and practices with the human rights standards enshrined in the Convention and other international human rights instruments;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 17c
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to accessibility of justice systems, the Committee recommends that States parties:] Develop targeted outreach activities and distribute through, for example, specific units or desks dedicated to women, information about the justice mechanisms, procedures and remedies that are available, in various formats and also in community languages. Such activities and information should be appropriate for all ethnic and minority groups in the population and designed in close cooperation with women from those groups and, especially, from women's and other relevant organizations;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- The Committee encourages States parties to translate the present general recommendation into national and local languages, including indigenous and minority languages, and to disseminate it widely to all branches of government, civil society, the media, academic institutions and women's organizations, including rural women's organizations. The Committee recommends that, when preparing their periodic reports, especially as regards article 14, States parties consult rural women's groups, including women farmers' organizations, producer collectives and rural cooperatives.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that State laws, regulations, procedures and decisions can sometimes coexist, within a given State party, with religious, customary, indigenous or community laws and practices. This results in the existence of plural justice systems. There are, therefore, multiple sources of law that may be formally recognized as part of the national legal order or operate without an explicit legal basis. States parties have obligations under articles 2, 5 (a) and 15 of the Convention and under other international human rights instruments to ensure that women's rights are equally respected and that women are protected against violations of their human rights by all components of plural justice systems.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 59c
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should ensure that legislation guarantees rural women's rights to land, water and other natural resources on an equal basis with men, irrespective of their civil and marital status or of a male guardian or guarantor, and that they have full legal capacity. They should ensure that indigenous women in rural areas have equal access with indigenous men to ownership and possession of and control over land, water, forests, fisheries, aquaculture and other resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired, including by protecting them against discrimination and dispossession. In addition, States parties should:] Strengthen customary and statutory institutions and mechanisms for defending or protecting women's rights to land, water and other natural resources, including community paralegal services.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Female circumcision 1990, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Noting with satisfaction that Governments, where such practices exist, national women's organizations, non-governmental organizations, specialized agencies, such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as the Commission on Human Rights and its Submission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, remain seized of the issue having particularly recognized that such traditional practices as female circumcision have serious health and other consequences for women and children,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 1990
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Many jurisdictions have adopted mandatory or optional systems for mediation, conciliation, arbitration and collaborative resolutions of disputes, as well as for facilitation and interest-based negotiations. This applies, in particular, in the areas of family law, domestic violence, juvenile justice and labour law. Alternative dispute resolution processes are sometimes referred to as informal justice, which are linked to, but function outside of, formal court litigation processes. Informal alternative dispute resolution processes also include non-formal indigenous courts and chieftancy-based alternative dispute resolution, where chiefs and other community leaders resolve interpersonal disputes, including divorce, child custody and land disputes. While such processes may provide greater flexibility and reduce costs and delays for women seeking justice, they may also lead to further violations of their rights and impunity for perpetrators because they often operate on the basis of patriarchal values, thereby having a negative impact on women's access to judicial review and remedies.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- States parties should eliminate all forms of discrimination against disadvantaged and marginalized groups of rural women. For example, States parties should ensure that disadvantaged and marginalized groups of rural women, including those belonging to indigenous, Afro-descendent, ethnic and religious minorities, heads of household, peasants, pastoralists, fisherfolk, landless women, migrants and conflict-affected rural women, are protected from intersecting forms of discrimination and have access to education, employment, water and sanitation and health care, among others. States parties should develop policies and programmes ensuring the equal enjoyment of rights by rural women with disabilities, including by ensuring the accessibility of infrastructures and services. States parties should similarly ensure that older rural women have access to social services and adequate social protection, as well as economic resources and the empowerment to live life with dignity, including through access to financial services and social security.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 29c (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following legislative measures:] Repeal, including in customary, religious and indigenous laws, all legal provisions that are discriminatory against women and thereby enshrine, encourage, facilitate, justify or tolerate any form of gender-based violence. In particular, repeal the following: Discriminatory evidentiary rules and procedures, including procedures allowing for the deprivation of women’s liberty to protect them from violence, practices focused on “virginity” and legal defences or mitigating factors based on culture, religion or male privilege, such as the defence of so-called “honour”, traditional apologies, pardons from the families of victims/survivors or the subsequent marriage of the victim/survivor of sexual assault to the perpetrator, procedures that result in the harshest penalties, including stoning, lashing and death, often being reserved for women and judicial practices that disregard a history of gender-based violence to the detriment of women defendants;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- States parties should address the root causes of the traffic in women by economically empowering rural women and raising awareness in rural areas of the risks of being lured by traffickers and the ways in which traffickers operate. States parties should ensure that anti-trafficking legislation addresses the social and economic challenges faced by rural women and girls and provide gender-responsive training on prevention measures, protection and assistance for victims to the judiciary, the police, border guards, other law enforcement officials and social workers, especially in rural areas and indigenous communities.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 59a
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should ensure that legislation guarantees rural women's rights to land, water and other natural resources on an equal basis with men, irrespective of their civil and marital status or of a male guardian or guarantor, and that they have full legal capacity. They should ensure that indigenous women in rural areas have equal access with indigenous men to ownership and possession of and control over land, water, forests, fisheries, aquaculture and other resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired, including by protecting them against discrimination and dispossession. In addition, States parties should:] Promote rural women's access to and meaningful participation in agricultural cooperatives, in which women may be members or the sole members;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- States parties should improve the living situation of rural women, in particular indigenous ones, who reside in peripheral regions, which tend to be poorer, more isolated and less connected to social services. They should accord priority to the development of those rural communities, engaging local women in the design and implementation of rural development plans.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 81c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Take all appropriate measures to ensure that stigma and discrimination are not perpetuated against the victims and/or practising immigrant or minority communities;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 26a
- Paragraph text
- [Legislative level] According to articles 2 (b), (c), (e), (f) and (g) and 5 (a), States are required to adopt legislation prohibiting all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls, harmonizing national law with the Convention. In the legislation, women who are victims/survivors of such violence should be considered to be right holders. It should contain age-sensitive and gender-sensitive provisions and effective legal protection, including sanctions on perpetrators and reparations to victims/survivors. The Convention provides that any existing norms of religious, customary, indigenous and community justice systems are to be harmonized with its standards and that all laws that constitute discrimination against women, including those which cause, promote or justify gender-based violence or perpetuate impunity for such acts, are to be repealed. Such norms may be part of statutory, customary, religious, indigenous or common law, constitutional, civil, family, criminal or administrative law or evidentiary and procedural law, such as provisions based on discriminatory or stereotypical attitudes or practices that allow for gender-based violence against women or mitigate sentences in that context;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Article 6 on the suppression of the traffic in women and of the exploitation of prostitution has special relevance for rural women and girls, including indigenous women and girls, who face specific risks because they live in remote areas. The economic hardships of rural life, alongside the lack of information on trafficking and how traffickers operate, can make them especially vulnerable, in particular in conflict-affected regions.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 78c
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should give priority to rural women's equal rights to land when undertaking land and agrarian reforms and consider it a specific and central objective of land reform. They should:] Formally recognize and review indigenous women's laws, traditions, customs and land tenure systems, with the aim of eliminating discriminatory provisions;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The scope of the right to access to justice also includes plural justice systems. The term "plural justice systems" refers to the coexistence within a State party of State laws, regulations, procedures and decisions on the one hand, and religious, customary, indigenous or community laws and practices on the other. Therefore, plural justice systems include multiple sources of law, whether formal or informal, whether State, non-State or mixed, that women may encounter when seeking to exercise their right to access to justice. Religious, customary, indigenous and community justice systems - referred to as traditional justice systems in the present general recommendation - may be formally recognized by the State, operate with the acquiescence of the State, with or without any explicit status, or function outside of the State's regulatory framework.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In line with general recommendation No. 28, States parties should recognize that rural women are not a homogenous group and often face intersecting discrimination. Many indigenous and Afro-descendent women live in rural settings and experience discrimination based on their ethnicity, language and traditional way of life. Rural women who belong to other ethnic minorities or to religious minorities, as well as female heads of household, may also experience higher rates of poverty and other forms of social exclusion. Women working in rural areas, including peasants, pastoralists, migrants, fisherfolk and landless women, also suffer disproportionately from intersecting forms of discrimination. As recognized in general recommendation No. 18 (1991) on disabled women, while women with disabilities face unique challenges in all areas of life, this is particularly the case of those living in rural areas. Discrimination may be compounded in rural areas by a lack of appropriate access to, inter alia, water, sanitation, electricity, health care, child and older person care, and inclusive and culturally appropriate education. As recognized in general recommendation No. 27 (2010) on older women and protection of their human rights, older women and widows may also suffer stigmatization and isolation in rural areas, which expose them to greater risks of ill treatment. In addition, rural women, including heads of household, living in conflict-affected areas face security concerns and further obstacles in enjoying their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 46c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] In settings in which there is no unified family code and in which there exist multiple family law systems, such as civil, indigenous, religious and customary law systems, ensure that personal status laws provide for individual choice as to the applicable family law at any stage of the relationship. State courts should review the decisions taken by all other bodies in that regard.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Follow-up to the Durban Review Conference 2009, para. 1f
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:] Be mindful that their response to the current financial and economic crisis should not lead to a situation which would increase poverty and underdevelopment and, potentially, a rise in racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against foreigners, immigrants, indigenous peoples, persons belonging to minorities and other particularly vulnerable groups all over the world;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system 2004, para. 5d
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] [States parties should pursue national strategies the objectives of which include the following:] To promote proper representation of persons belonging to racial and ethnic groups in the police and the system of justice;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system 2004, para. 5e
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] [States parties should pursue national strategies the objectives of which include the following:] To ensure respect for, and recognition of the traditional systems of justice of indigenous peoples, in conformity with international human rights law;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Discrimination against Roma 2000, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the Convention, taking into account their specific situations, adopt for the benefit of members of the Roma communities, inter alia, all or part of the following measures, as appropriate.] To take the necessary steps, including special measures, to secure equal opportunities for the participation of Roma minorities or groups in all central and local governmental bodies.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Right to self-determination 1996, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Committee emphasizes that in accordance with the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, approved by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, it is the duty of States to promote the right to self determination of peoples. But the implementation of the principle of self determination requires every State to promote, through joint and separate action, universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. In this context the Committee draws the attention of Governments to the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
Prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system 2004, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] Prior to the trial, States parties may, where appropriate, give preference to non judicial or parajudicial procedures for dealing with the offence, taking into account the cultural or customary background of the perpetrator, especially in the case of persons belonging to indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Article 1 of the Convention 1999, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- It appears from the periodic reports submitted to the Committee under article 9 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and from other information received by the Committee, that a number of States parties recognize the presence on their territory of some national or ethnic groups or indigenous peoples, while disregarding others. Certain criteria should be uniformly applied to all groups, in particular the number of persons concerned, and their being of a race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin different from the majority or from other groups within the population.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Article 1, paragraph 4, provides for limitations on the employment of special measures by States parties. The first limitation is that the measures "should not lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different racial groups". This provision is narrowly drawn to refer to "racial groups" and calls to mind the practice of Apartheid referred to in article 3 of the Convention, which was imposed by the authorities of the State, and to practices of segregation referred to in that article and in the preamble to the Convention. The notion of inadmissible "separate rights" must be distinguished from rights accepted and recognized by the international community to secure the existence and identity of groups such as minorities, indigenous peoples and other categories of person whose rights are similarly accepted and recognized within the framework of universal human rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right to self-determination 1996, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The right to self determination of peoples is a fundamental principle of international law. It is enshrined in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, in article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as in other international human rights instruments. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for the rights of peoples to self determination besides the right of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion or to use their own language.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
Prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system 2004, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Determined to combat all forms of discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system which may be suffered, in all countries of the world, by persons belonging to racial or ethnic groups, in particular non citizens including immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons Roma/Gypsies, indigenous peoples, displaced populations, persons discriminated against because of their descent, as well as other vulnerable groups which are particularly exposed to exclusion, marginalization and non integration in society, paying particular attention to the situation of women and children belonging to the aforementioned groups, who are susceptible to multiple discrimination because of their race and because of their sex or their age,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Combatting racist hate speech 2013, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- [While article 4 requires that certain forms of conduct be declared offences punishable by law, it does not supply detailed guidance for the qualification of forms of conduct as criminal offences. On the qualification of dissemination and incitement as offences punishable by law, the Committee considers that the following contextual factors should be taken into account:] The economic, social and political climate prevalent at the time the speech was made and disseminated, including the existence of patterns of discrimination against ethnic and other groups, including indigenous peoples. Discourses which in one context are innocuous or neutral may take on a dangerous significance in another: in its indicators on genocide the Committee emphasized the relevance of locality in appraising the meaning and potential effects of racist hate speech.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Racial discrimination against people of African descent 2011, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] Take steps to identify communities of people of African descent living in their territories, especially through the collection of disaggregated data on the population, bearing in mind the Committee's general recommendations, particularly general recommendations Nos. 4 (1973) on demographic composition of the population (art. 9); 8 (1990) on identification with a particular racial or ethnic group (art. 1, paras. 1 and 4), and 24 (1999) on reporting of persons belonging to different races, national/ethnic groups, or indigenous peoples (art. 1).
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Discrimination against Roma 2000, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the Convention, taking into account their specific situations, adopt for the benefit of members of the Roma communities, inter alia, all or part of the following measures, as appropriate.] To prevent and avoid as much as possible the segregation of Roma students, while keeping open the possibility for bilingual or mother tongue tuition; to this end, to endeavour to raise the quality of education in all schools and the level of achievement in schools by the minority community, to recruit school personnel from among members of Roma communities and to promote intercultural education.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Article 1 of the Convention 1999, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Committee stresses that, according to the definition given in article 1, paragraph 1, of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention relates to all persons who belong to different races, national or ethnic groups or to indigenous peoples. If the Committee is to secure the proper consideration of the periodic reports of States parties, it is essential that States parties provide as far as possible the Committee with information on the presence within their territory of such groups.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- In the practice of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in particular in the examination of reports of States parties under article 9 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the situation of indigenous peoples has always been a matter of close attention and concern. In this respect, the Committee has consistently affirmed that discrimination against indigenous peoples falls under the scope of the Convention and that all appropriate means must be taken to combat and eliminate such discrimination.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The Committee especially calls upon States parties to recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples to own, develop, control and use their communal lands, territories and resources and, where they have been deprived of their lands and territories traditionally owned or otherwise inhabited or used without their free and informed consent, to take steps to return those lands and territories. Only when this is for factual reasons not possible, the right to restitution should be substituted by the right to just, fair and prompt compensation. Such compensation should as far as possible take the form of lands and territories.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system 2004, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] [The right to an independent and impartial tribunal] In the case of persons belonging to indigenous peoples, States parties should give preference to alternatives to imprisonment and to other forms of punishment that are better adapted to their legal system, bearing in mind in particular International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system 2004, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] Lastly, with regard to women and children belonging to the groups referred to in the last paragraph of the preamble, States parties should pay the greatest attention possible with a view to ensuring that such persons benefit from the special regime to which they are entitled in relation to the execution of sentences, bearing in mind the particular difficulties faced by mothers of families and women belonging to certain communities, particularly indigenous communities.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
Combatting racist hate speech 2013, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Measures should be adopted in the field of education aimed at encouraging knowledge of the history, culture and traditions of "racial or ethnical" groups present in the State party, including indigenous peoples and persons of African descent. Educational materials should, in the interests of promoting mutual respect and understanding, endeavour to highlight the contribution of all groups to the social, economic and cultural enrichment of the national identity and to national, economic and social progress.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 4d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to:] Ensure that members of indigenous peoples have equal rights in respect of effective participation in public life and that no decisions directly relating to their rights and interests are taken without their informed consent;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Combatting racist hate speech 2013, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Racist hate speech addressed in Committee practice has included all the specific speech forms referred to in article 4 directed against groups recognized in article 1 of the Convention - which forbids discrimination on grounds of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin - such as indigenous peoples, descent-based groups, and immigrants or non-citizens, including migrant domestic workers, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as speech directed against women members of these and other vulnerable groups. In the light of the principle of intersectionality, and bearing in mind that "criticism of religious leaders or commentary on religious doctrine or tenets of faith" should not be prohibited or punished, the Committee's attention has also been engaged by hate speech targeting persons belonging to certain ethnic groups who profess or practice a religion different from the majority, including expressions of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and other similar manifestations of hatred against ethno-religious groups, as well as extreme manifestations of hatred such as incitement to genocide and to terrorism. Stereotyping and stigmatization of members of protected groups has also been the subject of expressions of concern and recommendations adopted by the Committee.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent) 2002, para. (r)
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties, as appropriate for their particular circumstances, adopt some or all of the following measures:] Take measures against any dissemination of ideas of caste superiority and inferiority or which attempt to justify violence, hatred or discrimination against descent-based communities;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The Committee further calls upon States parties with indigenous peoples in their territories to include in their periodic reports full information on the situation of such peoples, taking into account all relevant provisions of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Special measures should not be confused with specific rights pertaining to certain categories of person or community, such as, for example the rights of persons belonging to minorities to enjoy their own culture, profess and practise their own religion and use their own language, the rights of indigenous peoples, including rights to lands traditionally occupied by them, and rights of women to non-identical treatment with men, such as the provision of maternity leave, on account of biological differences from men. Such rights are permanent rights, recognized as such in human rights instruments, including those adopted in the context of the United Nations and its specialized agencies. States parties should carefully observe distinctions between special measures and permanent human rights in their law and practice. The distinction between special measures and permanent rights implies that those entitled to permanent rights may also enjoy the benefits of special measures.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Combatting racist hate speech 2013, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Media representations of ethnic, indigenous and other groups within the purview of article 1 of the Convention should be based on principles of respect, fairness and the avoidance of stereotyping. Media should avoid referring unnecessarily to race, ethnicity, religion and other group characteristics in a manner that may promote intolerance.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Combatting racist hate speech 2013, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The principles of the Convention are served by encouraging media pluralism, including facilitation of access to and ownership of media by minority, indigenous and other groups in the purview of the Convention, including media in their own languages. Local empowerment through media pluralism facilitates the emergence of speech capable of countering racist hate speech.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent) 2002, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming also the condemnation of discrimination against persons of Asian and African descent and indigenous and other forms of descent in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The Committee, noting that the General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples commencing on 10 December 1994, reaffirms that the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination apply to indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is conscious of the fact that in many regions of the world indigenous peoples have been, and are still being, discriminated against and deprived of their human rights and fundamental freedoms and in particular that they have lost their land and resources to colonists, commercial companies and State enterprises. Consequently, the preservation of their culture and their historical identity has been and still is jeopardized.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Right to self-determination 1996, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that ethnic or religious groups or minorities frequently refer to the right to self determination as a basis for an alleged right to secession. In this connection the Committee wishes to express the following views.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Article 1, paragraph 4, is expressed more broadly than article 2, paragraph 2, in that it refers to individuals "requiring … protection" without reference to ethnic group membership. The span of potential beneficiaries or addressees of special measures should however be understood in the light of the overall objective of the Convention as dedicated to the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, with special measures as an essential tool, where appropriate, for the achievement of this objective.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Article 1 of the Convention 1999, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Some States parties fail to collect data on the ethnic or national origin of their citizens or of other persons living on their territory, but decide at their own discretion which groups constitute ethnic groups or indigenous peoples that are to be recognized and treated as such. The Committee believes that there is an international standard concerning the specific rights of people belonging to such groups, together with generally recognized norms concerning equal rights for all and non discrimination, including those incorporated in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. At the same time, the Committee draws to the attention of States parties that the application of different criteria in order to determine ethnic groups or indigenous peoples, leading to the recognition of some and refusal to recognize others, may give rise to differing treatment for various groups within a country's population.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of racial discrimination 2000, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Certain forms of racial discrimination may be directed towards women specifically because of their gender, such as sexual violence committed against women members of particular racial or ethnic groups in detention or during armed conflict; the coerced sterilization of indigenous women; abuse of women workers in the informal sector or domestic workers employed abroad by their employers. Racial discrimination may have consequences that affect primarily or only women, such as pregnancy resulting from racial bias motivated rape; in some societies women victims of such rape may also be ostracized. Women may also be further hindered by a lack of access to remedies and complaint mechanisms for racial discrimination because of gender related impediments, such as gender bias in the legal system and discrimination against women in private spheres of life.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Racial discrimination against people of African descent 2011, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] Racism and structural discrimination against people of African descent, rooted in the infamous regime of slavery, are evident in the situations of inequality affecting them and reflected, inter alia, in the following domains: their grouping, together with indigenous peoples, among the poorest of the poor; their low rate of participation and representation in political and institutional decision-making processes; additional difficulties they face in access to and completion and quality of education, which results in the transmission of poverty from generation to generation; inequality in access to the labour market; limited social recognition and valuation of their ethnic and cultural diversity; and a disproportionate presence in prison populations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 4c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to:] Provide indigenous peoples with conditions allowing for a sustainable economic and social development compatible with their cultural characteristics;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent) 2002, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Strongly reaffirming that discrimination based on "descent" includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment of human rights,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent) 2002, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Strongly condemning descent-based discrimination, such as discrimination on the basis of caste and analogous systems of inherited status, as a violation of the Convention,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 4a
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to:] Recognize and respect indigenous distinct culture, history, language and way of life as an enrichment of the State's cultural identity and to promote its preservation;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 4b
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to:] Ensure that members of indigenous peoples are free and equal in dignity and rights and free from any discrimination, in particular that based on indigenous origin or identity;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 4e
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to:] Ensure that indigenous communities can exercise their rights to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs and to preserve and to practise their languages.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Right to self-determination 1996, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- In order to respect fully the rights of all peoples within a State, Governments are again called upon to adhere to and implement fully the international human rights instruments and in particular the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Concern for the protection of individual rights without discrimination on racial, ethnic, tribal, religious or other grounds must guide the policies of Governments. In accordance with article 2 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other relevant international documents, Governments should be sensitive towards the rights of persons belonging to ethnic groups, particularly their right to lead lives of dignity, to preserve their culture, to share equitably in the fruits of national growth and to play their part in the Government of the country of which they are citizens. Also, Governments should consider, within their respective constitutional frameworks, vesting persons belonging to ethnic or linguistic groups comprised of their citizens, where appropriate, with the right to engage in activities which are particularly relevant to the preservation of the identity of such persons or groups.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are not a homogenous group. They include: indigenous women; refugee, migrant, asylum seeker and internally displaced women; women in detention (hospitals, residential institutions, juvenile or correctional facilities and prisons); women living in poverty; women from different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds; women with multiple disabilities and high levels of support; women with albinism; and lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender women, and intersex persons. The diversity of women with disabilities also includes all types of impairments which is understood as physical, psychosocial, intellectual or sensory conditions which may or may not come with functional limitations. Disability is understood as the social effect of the interaction between individual impairment and the social and material environment, as described in article 1.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to inclusive education 2016, para. 12e
- Paragraph text
- [The core features of inclusive education are:] Respect for and value of diversity: All members of the learning community are welcomed equally, with respect for diversity according to, inter alia, disability, race, colour, sex, language, linguistic culture, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic, indigenous or social origin, property, birth, age or other status. All students must feel valued, respected, included and listened to. Effective measures to prevent abuse and bullying are in place. Inclusion takes an individual approach to students.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Access to services, especially for the most vulnerable. The Committee calls on States parties to ensure that all young children (and those with primary responsibility for their well being) are guaranteed access to appropriate and effective services, including programmes of health, care and education specifically designed to promote their well being. Particular attention should be paid to the most vulnerable groups of young children and to those who are at risk of discrimination (art. 2). This includes girls, children living in poverty, children with disabilities, children belonging to indigenous or minority groups, children from migrant families, children who are orphaned or lack parental care for other reasons, children living in institutions, children living with mothers in prison, refugee and asylum seeking children, children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and children of alcohol or drug addicted parents (see also section VI).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Article 2 sets out the obligation of States parties to ensure the rights of each child within its jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind. Non-discrimination has been identified by the Committee as a general principle of fundamental importance for the implementation of all the rights enshrined in the Convention. Indigenous children have the inalienable right to be free from discrimination. In order to effectively protect children from discrimination, it is a State party obligation to ensure that the principle of non-discrimination is reflected in all domestic legislation and can be directly applied and appropriately monitored and enforced through judicial and administrative bodies. Effective remedies should be timely and accessible. The Committee highlights that the obligations of the State party extend not only to the public but also to the private sector.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- As previously stated in the Committee's general comment No. 5 on general measures of implementation, the non-discrimination obligation requires States actively to identify individual children and groups of children the recognition and realization of whose rights may demand special measures. For example, the Committee highlights, in particular, the need for data collection to be disaggregated to enable discrimination or potential discrimination to be identified. Addressing discrimination may furthermore require changes in legislation, administration and resource allocation, as well as educational measures to change attitudes.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The Committee, through its extensive review of State party reports, notes that indigenous children are among those children who require positive measures in order to eliminate conditions that cause discrimination and to ensure their enjoyment of the rights of the Convention on equal level with other children. In particular, States parties are urged to consider the application of special measures in order to ensure that indigenous children have access to culturally appropriate services in the areas of health, nutrition, education, recreation and sports, social services, housing, sanitation and juvenile justice.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that public information and educational measures are taken to address the discrimination of indigenous children. The obligation under article 2 in conjunction with articles 17, 29.1 (d) and 30 of the Convention requires States to develop public campaigns, dissemination material and educational curricula, both in schools and for professionals, focused on the rights of indigenous children and the elimination of discriminatory attitudes and practices, including racism. Furthermore, States parties should provide meaningful opportunities for indigenous and non-indigenous children to understand and respect different cultures, religions, and languages.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- In the design of special measures, States parties should consider the needs of indigenous children who may face multiple facets of discrimination and also take into account the different situation of indigenous children in rural and urban situations. Particular attention should be given to girls in order to ensure that they enjoy their rights on an equal basis as boys. States parties should furthermore ensure that special measures address the rights of indigenous children with disabilities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- In order for indigenous children to enjoy their right to education on equal footing with non indigenous children, States parties should ensure a range of special measures to this effect. States parties should allocate targeted financial, material and human resources in order to implement policies and programmes which specifically seek to improve the access to education for indigenous children. As established by article 27 of the ILO Convention No. 169, education programmes and services should be developed and implemented in cooperation with the peoples concerned to address their specific needs. Furthermore, governments should recognize the right of indigenous peoples to establish their own educational institutions and facilities, provided that such institutions meet minimum standards established by the competent authority in consultation with these peoples. States should undertake all reasonable efforts to ensure that indigenous communities are aware of the value and importance of education and of the significance of community support for school enrolment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that school facilities are easily accessible where indigenous children live. If required, States parties should support the use of media, such as radio broadcasts and long distance education programmes (internet-based) for educational purposes and establish mobile schools for indigenous peoples who practice nomadic traditions. The school cycle should take into account and seek to adjust to cultural practices as well as agricultural seasons and ceremonial periods. States parties should only establish boarding schools away from indigenous communities when necessary as this may be a disincentive for the enrolment of indigenous children, especially girls. Boarding schools should comply with culturally sensitive standards and be monitored on a regular basis. Attempts should also be made to ensure that indigenous children living outside their communities have access to education in a manner which respects their culture, languages and traditions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Health-care workers and medical staff from indigenous communities play an important role by serving as a bridge between traditional medicine and conventional medical services and preference should be given to employment of local indigenous community workers. States parties should encourage the role of these workers by providing them with the necessary means and training in order to enable that conventional medicine be used by indigenous communities in a way that is mindful of their culture and traditions. In this context, the Committee recalls article 25 (2) of the ILO Convention No. 169 and articles 24 and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the right of indigenous peoples to their traditional medicines.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Regarding adolescent health, States parties should consider specific strategies in order to provide indigenous adolescents with access to sexual and reproductive information and services, including on family planning and contraceptives, the dangers of early pregnancy, the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Committee recommends States parties to take into account its general comments No. 3 on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child (2003) and No. 4 on adolescent health (2003) for this purpose.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- In certain States parties suicide rates for indigenous children are significantly higher than for non-indigenous children. Under such circumstances, States parties should design and implement a policy for preventive measures and ensure that additional financial and human resources are allocated to mental health care for indigenous children in a culturally appropriate manner, following consultation with the affected community. In order to analyse and combat the root causes, the State party should establish and maintain a dialogue with the indigenous community.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous children who have been victims of recruitment in armed conflict should be provided with the necessary support services for reintegration into their families and communities. Consistent with article 39 of the Convention, States parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of any form of exploitation, abuse, torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or armed conflicts. In the case of indigenous children, this should be done giving due consideration to the child's cultural and linguistic background.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Article 32 of the Convention provides that all children should be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. In addition, ILO Convention No. 138 (Minimum Age Convention) and Convention No. 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention) set parameters for distinguishing child labour that needs abolition, on the one hand, and acceptable work done by children, including such activities that allow indigenous children to acquire livelihood skills, identity and culture, on the other. Child labour is work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and dignity and that is harmful to their physical and mental development.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Article 29 of the Convention sets out that the aims of education for all children should be directed to, among other objectives, the development of respect for the child's cultural identity, language and values and for civilizations different from his or her own. Further objectives include the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding peace, tolerance, equality of sexes and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin. The aims of education apply to education for all children and States should ensure these are adequately reflected in the curricula, content of materials, teaching methods and policies. States are encouraged to refer to the Committee's general comment No. 1 on the aims of education for further guidance.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention with consideration to the provisions of article 20, call on States to ensure that children are protected against sexual exploitation and abuse as well as the abduction, sale or traffic of children for any purposes. The Committee is concerned that indigenous children whose communities are affected by poverty and urban migration are at a high risk of becoming victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Young girls, particularly those not registered at birth, are especially vulnerable. In order to improve the protection of all children, including indigenous, States parties are encouraged to ratify and implement the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In order to ensure that the aims of education are in line with the Convention, States parties are responsible for protecting children from all forms of discrimination as set out in article 2 of the Convention and for actively combating racism. This duty is particularly pertinent in relation to indigenous children. In order to effectively implement this obligation, States parties should ensure that the curricula, educational materials and history textbooks provide a fair, accurate and informative portrayal of the societies and cultures of indigenous peoples. Discriminatory practices, such as restrictions on the use of cultural and traditional dress, should be avoided in the school setting.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Article 28 of the Convention sets out that States parties shall ensure that primary education is compulsory and available to all children on the basis of equal opportunity. States parties are encouraged to make secondary and vocational education available and accessible to every child. However, in practice, indigenous children are less likely to be enrolled in school and continue to have higher drop out and illiteracy rates than non-indigenous children. Most indigenous children have reduced access to education due to a variety of factors including insufficient educational facilities and teachers, direct or indirect costs for education as well as a lack of culturally adjusted and bilingual curricula in accordance with article 30. Furthermore, indigenous children are frequently confronted with discrimination and racism in the school setting.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right of the child to be heard 2009, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee emphasizes that article 12 imposes no age limit on the right of the child to express her or his views, and discourages States parties from introducing age limits either in law or in practice which would restrict the child's right to be heard in all matters affecting her or him. In this respect, the Committee underlines the following:] Third, States parties are also under the obligation to ensure the implementation of this right for children experiencing difficulties in making their views heard. For instance, children with disabilities should be equipped with, and enabled to use, any mode of communication necessary to facilitate the expression of their views. Efforts must also be made to recognize the right to expression of views for minority, indigenous and migrant children and other children who do not speak the majority language.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- In 2003, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held its second session on the theme indigenous children and youth and the same year the Committee on the Rights of the Child held its annual Day of General Discussion on the rights of indigenous children and adopted specific recommendations aimed primarily at States parties but also United Nations entities, human rights mechanisms, civil society, donors, the World Bank and regional development banks.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Youth
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The general comment aims to explore the specific challenges which impede indigenous children from being able to fully enjoy their rights and highlight special measures required to be undertaken by States in order to guarantee the effective exercise of indigenous children's rights. Furthermore, the general comment seeks to encourage good practices and highlight positive approaches in the practical implementation of rights for indigenous children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The Committee considers there may be a distinction between the best interests of the individual child, and the best interests of children as a group. In decisions regarding one individual child, typically a court decision or an administrative decision, it is the best interests of the specific child that is the primary concern. However, considering the collective cultural rights of the child is part of determining the child's best interests.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that indigenous communities are informed about the importance of birth registration and of the negative implications of its absence on the enjoyment of other rights for non-registered children. States parties should ensure that information to this effect is available to indigenous communities in their own languages and that public awareness campaigns are undertaken in consultation with the communities concerned.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- States parties shall ensure that all children enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and have access to health-care service. Indigenous children frequently suffer poorer health than non-indigenous children due to inter alia inferior or inaccessible health services. The Committee notes with concern, on the basis of its reviews of States parties' reports, that this applies both to developing and developed countries.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is particularly concerned about the difficulties faced by particular categories of children in relation to enjoyment and conditions of equality of the rights defined in article 31, especially girls, poor children, children with disabilities, indigenous children, children belonging to minorities, among others.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Article 30 of the Convention states that "In those States in which ethnic, religious, or linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion or to use his or her own language."
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Children’s rights in juvenile justice 2007, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- States parties have to take all necessary measures to ensure that all children in conflict with the law are treated equally. Particular attention must be paid to de facto discrimination and disparities, which may be the result of a lack of a consistent policy and involve vulnerable groups of children, such as street children, children belonging to racial, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, indigenous children, girl children, children with disabilities and children who are repeatedly in conflict with the law (recidivists). In this regard, training of all professionals involved in the administration of juvenile justice is important (see paragraph 97 below), as well as the establishment of rules, regulations or protocols which enhance equal treatment of child offenders and provide redress, remedies and compensation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 43a (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [Social measures should reflect governmental commitment to fulfilling child protection rights and provide for basic and targeted services. They can be initiated and implemented by both State and civil society actors under the responsibility of the State. Such measures include:] [Social policy measures to reduce risk and prevent violence against children, for example:] Identification and prevention of factors and circumstances which hinder vulnerable groups' access to services and full enjoyment of their rights (including indigenous and minority children and children with disabilities, among others);
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right of the child to have his or her best interest taken as a primary consideration 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- However, the term "children" implies that the right to have their best interests duly considered applies to children not only as individuals, but also in general or as a group. Accordingly, States have the obligation to assess and take as a primary consideration the best interests of children as a group or in general in all actions concerning them. This is particularly evident for all implementation measures. The Committee underlines that the child's best interests is conceived both as a collective and individual right, and that the application of this right to indigenous children as a group requires consideration of how the right relates to collective cultural rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The specific references to indigenous children in the Convention are indicative of the recognition that they require special measures in order to fully enjoy their rights. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has consistently taken into account the situation of indigenous children in its reviews of periodic reports of States parties to the Convention. The Committee has observed that indigenous children face significant challenges in exercising their rights and has issued specific recommendations to this effect in its concluding observations. Indigenous children continue to experience serious discrimination contrary to article 2 of the Convention in a range of areas, including in their access to health care and education, which has prompted the need to adopt this general comment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The application of the principle of the best interests of the child to indigenous children requires particular attention. The Committee notes that the best interests of the child is conceived both as a collective and individual right, and that the application of this right to indigenous children as a group requires consideration of how the right relates to collective cultural rights. Indigenous children have not always received the distinct consideration they deserve. In some cases, their particular situation has been obscured by other issues of broader concern to indigenous peoples, (including land rights and political representation). In the case of children, the best interests of the child cannot be neglected or violated in preference for the best interests of the group.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The primary objective of this general comment is to provide States with guidance on how to implement their obligations under the Convention with respect to indigenous children. The Committee bases this general comment on its experience in interpreting the provisions of the Convention in relation to indigenous children. Furthermore, the general comment is based upon the recommendations adopted following the Day of General Discussion on indigenous children in 2003 and reflects a consultative process with relevant stakeholders, including indigenous children themselves.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Provisions in the Convention on the Rights of the Child refer to the use of children in illicit production and trafficking of drugs (art. 33), sexual exploitation (art. 34), trafficking in children (art. 35), children in armed conflicts (art. 38). These provisions are closely related to the definition of the worst forms of child labour under ILO Convention No. 182. The Committee notes with grave concern that indigenous children are disproportionately affected by poverty and at particular risk of being used in child labour, especially its worst forms, such as slavery, bonded labour, child trafficking, including for domestic work, use in armed conflict, prostitution and hazardous work.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The prevention of exploitative child labour among indigenous children (as in the case of all other children) requires a rights-based approach to child labour and is closely linked to the promotion of education. For the effective elimination of exploitative child labour among indigenous communities, States parties must identify the existing barriers to education and the specific rights and needs of indigenous children with respect to school education and vocational training. This requires that special efforts be taken to maintain a dialogue with indigenous communities and parents regarding the importance and benefits of education. Measures to combat exploitative child labour furthermore require analysis of the structural root causes of child exploitation, data collection and the design and implementation of prevention programmes, with adequate allocation of financial and human resources by the State party, to be carried out in consultation with indigenous communities and children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Articles 37 and 40 of the Convention ensure the rights of children within, and in interaction with, State judicial systems. The Committee notes with concern that incarceration of indigenous children is often disproportionately high and in some instances may be attributed to systemic discrimination from within the justice system and/or society. To address these high rates of incarceration, the Committee draws the attention of States parties to article 40 (3) of the Convention requiring States to undertake measures to deal with children alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law without resorting to judicial proceedings, whenever appropriate. The Committee, in its general comment No. 10 on children's rights in juvenile justice (2007) and in its concluding observations, has consistently affirmed that the arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child may be used only as a measure of last resort.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- States parties are encouraged to take all appropriate measures to support indigenous peoples to design and implement traditional restorative justice systems as long as those programmes are in accordance with the rights set out in the Convention, notably with the best interests of the child. The Committee draws the attention of States parties to the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, which encourage the development of community programmes for the prevention of juvenile delinquency. States parties should seek to support, in consultation with indigenous peoples, the development of community-based policies, programmes and services which consider the needs and culture of indigenous children, their families and communities. States should provide adequate resources to juvenile justice systems, including those developed and implemented by indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- In the preamble of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States parties take "due account of the importance and cultural values of each people for the protection and harmonious development of the child". While all the rights contained in the Convention apply to all children, whether indigenous or not, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was the first core human rights treaty to include specific references to indigenous children in a number of provisions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- In addition to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, various human rights treaties, have played an important role in addressing the situation of indigenous children and their right not to be discriminated, namely, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, taking into account articles 8 and 30 of the Convention, States parties should ensure that indigenous children may receive indigenous names of their parents' choice in accordance with their cultural traditions and the right to preserve his or her identity. States parties should put in place national legislation that provides indigenous parents with the possibility of selecting the name of their preference for their children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Children from indigenous and minority communities: Ethnic, religious, racial or caste discrimination can serve to exclude children from realizing their rights under article 31. Hostility, assimilation policies, rejection, violence and discrimination may result in barriers to enjoyment by indigenous and minority children of their own cultural practices, rituals and celebrations, as well as to their participation in sports, games, cultural activities, play and recreation alongside other children. States have an obligation to recognize, protect and respect the right of minority groups to take part in the cultural and recreational life of the society in which they live, as well as to conserve, promote and develop their own culture. However, children from indigenous communities also have the right to experience and explore cultures beyond the boundaries of their own family traditions. Cultural and artistic programmes must be based on inclusion, participation and non-discrimination.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 72g
- Paragraph text
- [Elements to be mainstreamed into national coordinating frameworks. The following elements need to be mainstreamed across the measures (legislative, administrative, social and educational) and stages of intervention (from prevention through to recovery and reintegration):] Children in potentially vulnerable situations. Groups of children which are likely to be exposed to violence include, but are not limited to, children: not living with their biological parents, but in various forms of alternative care; not registered at birth; in street situations; in actual or perceived conflict with the law; with physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, learning disabilities, psychosocial disabilities and congenital, acquired and/or chronic illnesses or serious behavioural problems; who are indigenous and from other ethnic minorities; from minority religious or linguistic groups; who are lesbian, gay, transgender or transsexual; at risk of harmful traditional practices; in early marriage (especially girls, and especially but not exclusively forced marriage); in hazardous child labour, including the worst forms; who are on the move as migrants or refugees, or who are displaced and/or trafficked; who have already experienced violence; who experience and witness violence in the home and in communities; in low socio-economic urban environments, where guns, weapons, drugs and alcohol may be easily available; living in accident- or disaster-prone areas or in toxic environments; affected by HIV/AIDS or who are themselves HIV infected; who are malnourished; looked after by other children; who are themselves carers and heads of households; born to parents who are themselves still under 18; who are unwanted, born prematurely or part of a multiple birth; hospitalized with inadequate supervision or contact with caregivers; or exposed to ICTs without adequate safeguards, supervision or empowerment to protect themselves. Children in emergencies are extremely vulnerable to violence when, as a consequence of social and armed conflicts, natural disasters and other complex and chronic emergencies, social systems collapse, children become separated from their caregivers and caregiving and safe environments are damaged or even destroyed;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In some countries, even when child- and adolescent-friendly HIV-related services are available, they are not sufficiently accessible to children with disabilities, indigenous children, children belonging to minorities, children living in rural areas, children living in extreme poverty or children who are otherwise marginalized within the society. In others, where the health system's overall capacity is already strained, children with HIV have been routinely denied access to basic health care. States parties must ensure that services are provided to the maximum extent possible to all children living within their borders, without discrimination, and that they sufficiently take into account differences in gender, age and the social, economic, cultural and political context in which children live.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Article 30: Children from ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities should be encouraged to enjoy and participate in their own cultures. States should respect the cultural specificities of children from minority communities as well as children of indigenous origin, and ensure that they are afforded equal rights with children from majority communities to participate in cultural and artistic activities reflecting their own language, religion and culture.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States parties to introduce measures to support adolescents from minority and indigenous communities so that they can enjoy their cultural identities and build on the strengths of their cultures to become active contributors to family and community life, paying particular attention to the rights of adolescent girls. In so doing, States should address the comprehensive recommendations contained in the Committee's general comment No. 11 (2009) on indigenous children and their rights under the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Among the positive measures required to be undertaken by States parties is disaggregated data collection and the development of indicators for the purposes of identifying existing and potential areas of discrimination of indigenous children. The identification of gaps and barriers to the enjoyment of the rights of indigenous children is essential in order to implement appropriate positive measures through legislation, resource allocation, policies and programmes.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Staff involved in status-determination procedures of children, in particular those who are unaccompanied or separated, should receive training on adopting an application of international and national refugee law that is child, cultural, and gender-sensitive. To properly assess asylum claims of children, information on the situation of children, including those belonging to minorities or marginalized groups, should be included in government efforts to collect country of-origin information.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Although article 30 is expressed in negative terms, it nevertheless recognizes the existence of a "right" and requires that it "shall not be denied". Consequently, a State party is under an obligation to ensure that the existence and the exercise of this right are protected against their denial or violation. The Committee concurs with the Human Rights Committee that positive measures of protection are required, not only against the acts of the State party itself, whether through its legislative, judicial or administrative authorities, but also against the acts of other persons within the State party.$
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Based on its reviews of States parties reports, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has observed that in implementing their obligations under the Convention many States parties give insufficient attention to the rights of indigenous children and to promotion of their development. The Committee considers that special measures through legislation and policies for the protection of indigenous children should be undertaken in consultation with the communities concerned and with the participation of children in the consultation process, as provided for by article 12 of the Convention. The Committee considers that consultations should be actively carried out by authorities or other entities of States parties in a manner that is culturally appropriate, guarantees availability of information to all parties and ensures interactive communication and dialogue.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Committee underlines that cultural practices provided by article 30 of the Convention must be exercised in accordance with other provisions of the Convention and under no circumstances may be justified if deemed prejudicial to the child's dignity, health and development. Should harmful practices be present, inter alia early marriages and female genital mutilation, the State party should work together with indigenous communities to ensure their eradication. The Committee strongly urges States parties to develop and implement awareness raising campaigns, education programmes and legislation aimed at changing attitudes and address gender roles and stereotypes that contribute to harmful practices.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- When the right is applied to indigenous children as a group, the State party plays an important role in promoting their participation and should ensure that they are consulted on all matters affecting them. The State party should design special strategies to guarantee that their participation is effective. The State party should ensure that this right is applied in particular in the school environment, alternative care settings and in the community in general. The Committee recommends States parties to work closely with indigenous children and their communities to develop, implement and evaluate programmes, policies and strategies for implementation of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Committee draws the attention of States to article 8 (2) of the Convention which affirms that a child who has been illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity shall be provided with appropriate assistance and protection in order to re-establish speedily his or her identity. The Committee encourages States parties to bear in mind article 8 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which sets out that effective mechanisms should be provided for prevention of, and redress for, any action which deprives indigenous peoples, including children, of their ethnic identities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Article 5 of the Convention requires States parties to respect the rights, responsibilities and duties of parents or where applicable, the members of the extended family or community to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of all children, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the Convention. States parties should ensure effective measures are implemented to safeguard the integrity of indigenous families and communities by assisting them in their child-rearing responsibilities in accordance with articles 3, 5, 18, 25 and 27 (3) of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- The Committee reminds States parties that ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child obliges States parties to take action to ensure the realization of all rights in the Convention for all children within their jurisdiction. The duty to respect and protect requires each State party to ensure that the exercise of the rights of indigenous children is fully protected against any acts of the State party by its legislative, judicial or administrative authorities or by any other entity or person within the State party.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Article 3 of the Convention requires States parties to ensure that in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. Article 4 of the Convention requires States parties to undertake measures to implement the Convention to the maximum extent of their available resources. Article 42 sets out that States parties are further required to ensure that children and adults are provided information on the principles and provisions of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- In order to effectively implement the rights of the Convention for indigenous children, States parties need to adopt appropriate legislation in accordance with the Convention. Adequate resources should be allocated and special measures adopted in a range of areas in order to effectively ensure that indigenous children enjoy their rights on an equal level with non indigenous children. Further efforts should be taken to collect and disaggregate data and develop indicators to evaluate the degree of implementation of the rights of indigenous children. In order to develop policy and programming efforts in a culturally sensitive manner, States parties should consult with indigenous communities and directly with indigenous children. Professionals working with indigenous children should be trained on how consideration should be given to cultural aspects of children's rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The Committee calls for States parties to, when applicable, better integrate information in their periodic reports to the Committee on the implementation of indigenous children's rights and on the adoption of special measures in this regard. Furthermore, the Committee requests States parties to strengthen efforts to translate and disseminate information about the Convention and its Optional Protocols and the reporting process among indigenous communities and children, in order for them to actively participate in the monitoring process. Furthermore, indigenous communities are encouraged to utilize the Convention as an opportunity to assess the implementation of the rights of their children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Finally, the Committee urges States parties to adopt a rights-based approach to indigenous children based on the Convention and other relevant international standards, such as ILO Convention No. 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In order to guarantee effective monitoring of the implementation of the rights of indigenous children, States parties are urged to strengthen direct cooperation with indigenous communities and, if required, seek technical cooperation from international agencies, including United Nations entities. Empowerment of indigenous children and the effective exercise of their rights to culture, religion and language provide an essential foundation of a culturally diverse State in harmony and compliance with its human rights obligations.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States parties to take special measures to ensure that indigenous children are not discriminated against enjoying the highest attainable standard of health. The Committee is concerned over the high rates of mortality among indigenous children and notes that States parties have a positive duty to ensure that indigenous children have equal access to health services and to combat malnutrition as well as infant, child and maternal mortality.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- States should take all reasonable measures to ensure that indigenous children, families and their communities receive information and education on issues relating to health and preventive care such as nutrition, breastfeeding, pre- and postnatal care, child and adolescent health, vaccinations, communicable diseases (in particular HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis), hygiene, environmental sanitation and the dangers of pesticides and herbicides.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- States parties are reminded that pursuant to article 12 of the Convention, all children should have an opportunity to be heard in any judicial or criminal proceedings affecting them, either directly or through a representative. In the case of indigenous children, States parties should adopt measures to ensure that an interpreter is provided free of charge if required and that the child is guaranteed legal assistance, in a culturally sensitive manner.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Therefore, States parties should take special measures in order to ensure that indigenous children, including those living in remote areas, are duly registered. Such special measures, to be agreed following consultation with the communities concerned, may include mobile units, periodic birth registration campaigns or the designation of birth registration offices within indigenous communities to ensure accessibility.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The Role of Independent National Human Rights Institutions in the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child 2002, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- NHRIs should be geographically and physically accessible to all children. In the spirit of article 2 of the Convention, they should proactively reach out to all groups of children, in particular the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, such as (but not limited to) children in care or detention, children from minority and indigenous groups, children with disabilities, children living in poverty, refugee and migrant children, street children and children with special needs in areas such as culture, language, health and education. NHRI legislation should include the right of the institution to have access in conditions of privacy to children in all forms of alternative care and to all institutions that include children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Through its periodic reviews of States parties' reports, the Committee has concluded that indigenous children are particularly vulnerable in situations of armed conflict or in situations of internal unrest. Indigenous communities often reside in areas which are coveted for their natural resources or that, because of remoteness, serve as a base for non-State armed groups. In other situations, indigenous communities reside in the vicinity of borders or frontiers which are disputed by States.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous children in such circumstances have been, and continue to face risks of being, victims of attacks against their communities, resulting in death, rape and torture, displacement, enforced disappearances, the witnessing of atrocities and the separation from parents and community. Targeting of schools by armed forces and groups has denied indigenous children access to education. Furthermore, indigenous children have been recruited by armed forces and groups and forced to commit atrocities, sometimes even against their own communities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Article 38 of the Convention obliges States parties to ensure respect for the rules of humanitarian law, to protect the civilian population and to take care of children who are affected by armed conflict. States parties should pay particular attention to the risks indigenous children face in hostilities and take maximum preventive measures in consultation with the communities concerned. Military activities on indigenous territories should be avoided to the extent possible, the Committee recalls article 30 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in this regard. States parties should not require military conscription of indigenous children under the age of 18 years. States parties are encouraged to ratify and implement the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The education of indigenous children contributes both to their individual and community development as well as to their participation in the wider society. Quality education enables indigenous children to exercise and enjoy economic, social and cultural rights for their personal benefit as well as for the benefit of their community. Furthermore, it strengthens children's ability to exercise their civil rights in order to influence political policy processes for improved protection of human rights. Thus, the implementation of the right to education of indigenous children is an essential means of achieving individual empowerment and self-determination of indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right of the child to be heard 2009, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- The practice of implementation deals with a broad range problems, such as health, the economy, education or the environment, which are of interest not only to the child as an individual, but to groups of children and children in general. Consequently, the Committee has always interpreted participation broadly in order to establish procedures not only for individual children and clearly defined groups of children, but also for groups of children, such as indigenous children, children with disabilities, or children in general, who are affected directly or indirectly by social, economic or cultural conditions of living in their society.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The inadequate attention paid to and the insufficient respect shown for the cultures, values and world vision of adolescents from minority and indigenous groups can lead to discrimination, social exclusion, marginalization and non-inclusion in public spaces. This increases the vulnerability of minority and indigenous adolescents to poverty, social injustice, mental health issues, including disproportionately high suicide rates, poor educational outcomes and high levels of detention within the criminal justice system.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which provides important guidance on the rights of indigenous peoples, including specific reference to the rights of indigenous children in a number of areas.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- This general comment on the rights of indigenous children as provided for by the Convention on the Rights of the Child draws on the legal developments and initiatives outlined above.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Article 12 of the Convention establishes the right of every child to freely express her or his views, in all matters affecting her or him, and the subsequent right for those views to be given due weight, according to the child's age and maturity. States should hear children's views regularly - in line with general comment No. 12 - when developing national and local-level business-related laws and policies that may affect them. In particular, States should consult with children who face difficulties in making themselves heard, such as the children of minority and indigenous groups, children with disabilities as stated in articles 4, paragraph 3, and 7 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and children in similar situations of vulnerability. Governmental bodies, such as education and labour inspectorates, concerned with regulating and monitoring the activities and operations of business enterprises should ensure that they take into account the views of affected children. States should also hear children when child-rights impact assessments of proposed business-related policy, legislation, regulations, budget or other administrative decisions are undertaken.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Article 2 (non-discrimination): The Committee emphasizes that States parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that all children have the opportunity to realize their rights under article 31 without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status. Particular attention should be given to addressing the rights of certain groups of children, including, inter alia, girls, children with disabilities, children living in poor or hazardous environments, children living in poverty, children in penal, health-care or residential institutions, children in situations of conflict or humanitarian disaster, children in rural communities, asylum-seeking and refugee children, children in street situations, nomadic groups, migrant or internally displaced children, children of indigenous origin and from minority groups, working children, children without parents and children subjected to significant pressure for academic attainment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 81c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Take all appropriate measures to ensure that stigma and discrimination are not perpetuated against the victims and/or practising immigrant or minority communities;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- In this context, the Committee also supports the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its call upon States parties to recognize and respect indigenous distinct cultures, history, language and way of life as an enrichment of the State's cultural identity and to promote its preservation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The presence of indigenous peoples is established by self-identification as the fundamental criterion for determining their existence. There is no requirement for States parties to officially recognize indigenous peoples in order for them to exercise their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States parties to ensure that adequate attention is given to article 30 in the implementation of the Convention. States parties should provide detailed information in their periodic reports under the Convention on the special measures undertaken in order to guarantee that indigenous children can enjoy the rights provided in article 30.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- In their periodic reports to the Committee, States parties should identify measures and programmes undertaken to address discrimination of indigenous children in relation to the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Article 17 of the Convention also makes specific mention as States parties shall "encourage the mass media to have particular regard for the linguistic needs of the child who belongs to a minority group or who is indigenous".
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, 1989 contains provisions which advance the rights of indigenous peoples and specifically highlights the rights of indigenous children in the area of education.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The vulnerability of children to HIV/AIDS resulting from political, economic, social, cultural and other factors determines the likelihood of their being left with insufficient support to cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS on their families and communities, exposed to the risk of infection, subjected to inappropriate research, or deprived of access to treatment, care and support if and when HIV infection sets in. Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is most acute for children living in refugee and internally displaced persons camps, children in detention, children living in institutions, as well as children living in extreme poverty, children living in situations of armed conflict, child soldiers, economically and sexually exploited children, and disabled, migrant, minority, indigenous, and street children. However, all children can be rendered vulnerable by the particular circumstances of their lives. Even in times of severe resource constraints, the Committee wishes to note that the rights of vulnerable members of society must be protected and that many measures can be pursued with minimum resource implications. Reducing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS requires first and foremost that children, their families and communities be empowered to make informed choices about decisions, practices or policies affecting them in relation to HIV/AIDS.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that the Convention contains references to both minority and indigenous children. Certain references in this general comment may be relevant for children of minority groups and the Committee may decide in the future to prepare a general comment specifically on the rights of children belonging to minority groups.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The Committee considers that, in relation to article 12, there is a distinction between the right of the child as an individual to express his or her opinion and the right to be heard collectively, which allows children as a group to be involved in consultations on matters involving them.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- States parties are obliged to ensure that all children are registered immediately after birth and that they acquire a nationality. Birth registration should be free and universally accessible. The Committee is concerned that indigenous children, to a greater extent than non-indigenous children, remain without birth registration and at a higher risk of being stateless.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Infants
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- With reference to article 31 of the Convention, the Committee notes the many positive benefits of participation in sports, traditional games, physical education, and recreational activities and calls on States parties to ensure that indigenous children enjoy the effective exercise of these rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, article 29 of the Convention provides that "education of the child shall be directed to the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin".
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The Committee reaffirms the importance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and calls on States to engage with indigenous peoples, including children, to ensure the full realization of the MDGs with respect to indigenous children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The aims of education 2001, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In addition, the school environment itself must thus reflect the freedom and the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin called for in article 29 (1) (b) and (d). A school which allows bullying or other violent and exclusionary practices to occur is not one which meets the requirements of article 29 (1). The term "human rights education" is too often used in a way which greatly oversimplifies its connotations. What is needed, in addition to formal human rights education, is the promotion of values and policies conducive to human rights not only within schools and universities but also within the broader community.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Children’s rights in juvenile justice 2007, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- It is essential for the quality of the administration of juvenile justice that all the professionals involved, inter alia, in law enforcement and the judiciary receive appropriate training on the content and meaning of the provisions of CRC in general, particularly those directly relevant to their daily practice. This training should be organized in a systematic and ongoing manner and should not be limited to information on the relevant national and international legal provisions. It should include information on, inter alia, the social and other causes of juvenile delinquency, psychological and other aspects of the development of children, with special attention to girls and children belonging to minorities or indigenous peoples, the culture and the trends in the world of young people, the dynamics of group activities, and the available measures dealing with children in conflict with the penal law, in particular measures without resorting to judicial proceedings (see chapter IV, section B, above).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The rights of children with disabilities 2007, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Article 2 requires States parties to ensure that all children within their jurisdiction enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Convention without discrimination of any kind. This obligation requires States parties to take appropriate measures to prevent all forms of discrimination, including on the ground of disability. This explicit mention of disability as a prohibited ground for discrimination in article 2 is unique and can be explained by the fact that children with disabilities belong to one of the most vulnerable groups of children. In many cases forms of multiple discrimination based on a combination of factors, i.e. indigenous girls with disabilities, children with disabilities living in rural areas and so on increase the vulnerability of certain groups. It has been therefore felt necessary to mention disability explicitly in the non-discrimination article. Discrimination takes place - often de facto - in various aspects of the life and development of children with disabilities. As an example, social discrimination and stigmatization leads to their marginalization and exclusion, and may even threaten their survival and development if it goes as far as physical or mental violence against children with disabilities. Discrimination in service provision excludes them from education and denies them access to quality health and social services. The lack of appropriate education and vocational training discriminates against them by denying them job opportunities in the future. Social stigma, fears, overprotection, negative attitudes, misbeliefs and prevailing prejudices against children with disabilities remain strong in many communities and lead to the marginalization and alienation of children with disabilities. The Committee shall elaborate on these aspects in the paragraphs below.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- When State authorities including legislative bodies seek to assess the best interests of an indigenous child, they should consider the cultural rights of the indigenous child and his or her need to exercise such rights collectively with members of their group. As regards legislation, policies and programmes that affect indigenous children in general, the indigenous community should be consulted and given an opportunity to participate in the process on how the best interests of indigenous children in general can be decided in a culturally sensitive way. Such consultations should, to the extent possible, include meaningful participation of indigenous children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The principle of the best interests of the child requires States to undertake active measures throughout their legislative, administrative and judicial systems that would systematically apply the principle by considering the implication of their decisions and actions on children's rights and interests. In order to effectively guarantee the rights of indigenous children such measures would include training and awareness-raising among relevant professional categories of the importance of considering collective cultural rights in conjunction with the determination of the best interests of the child.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Article 30 of the Convention and the right to the enjoyment of culture, religion and language are key elements in this general comment; however the aim is to explore the various provisions which require particular attention in their implementation in relation to indigenous children. Particular emphasis is placed on the interrelationship between relevant provisions, notably with the general principles of the Convention as identified by the Committee, namely, non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development and the right to be heard. ?
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The Committee recalls the close linkage between article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Both articles specifically provide for the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion or to use his or her own language. The right established is conceived as being both individual and collective and is an important recognition of the collective traditions and values in indigenous cultures. The Committee notes that the right to exercise cultural rights among indigenous peoples may be closely associated with the use of traditional territory and the use of its resources.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- States parties should, in cooperation with indigenous families and communities, collect data on the family situation of indigenous children, including children in foster care and adoption processes. Such information should be used to design policies relating to the family environment and alternative care of indigenous children in a culturally sensitive way. Maintaining the best interests of the child and the integrity of indigenous families and communities should be primary considerations in development, social services, health and education programmes affecting indigenous children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, States should always ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is the paramount consideration in any alternative care placement of indigenous children and in accordance with article 20 (3) of the Convention pay due regard to the desirability of continuity in the child's upbringing and to the child's ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background. In States parties where indigenous children are overrepresented among children separated from their family environment, specially targeted policy measures should be developed in consultation with indigenous communities in order to reduce the number of indigenous children in alternative care and prevent the loss of their cultural identity. Specifically, if an indigenous child is placed in care outside their community, the State party should take special measures to ensure that the child can maintain his or her cultural identity.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take the necessary steps to ensure ease of access to health-care services for indigenous children. Health services should to the extent possible be community based and planned and administered in cooperation with the peoples concerned. Special consideration should be given to ensure that health-care services are culturally sensitive and that information about these is available in indigenous languages. Particular attention should be given to ensuring access to health care for indigenous peoples who reside in rural and remote areas or in areas of armed conflict or who are migrant workers, refugees or displaced. States parties should furthermore pay special attention to the needs of indigenous children with disabilities and ensure that relevant programmes and policies are culturally sensitive.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Article 30 of the Convention establishes the right of the indigenous child to use his or her own language. In order to implement this right, education in the child's own language is essential. Article 28 of ILO Convention No. 169 affirms that indigenous children shall be taught to read and write in their own language besides being accorded the opportunity to attain fluency in the official languages of the country. Bilingual and intercultural curricula are important criteria for the education of indigenous children. Teachers of indigenous children should to the extent possible be recruited from within indigenous communities and given adequate support and training.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The Committee reiterates its understanding of development of the child as set out in its general comment No. 5, as a "holistic concept embracing the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral, psychological and social development". The Preamble of the Convention stresses the importance of the traditions and cultural values of each person, particularly with reference to the protection and harmonious development of the child. In the case of indigenous children whose communities retain a traditional lifestyle, the use of traditional land is of significant importance to their development and enjoyment of culture. States parties should closely consider the cultural significance of traditional land and the quality of the natural environment while ensuring the children's right to life, survival and development to the maximum extent possible.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- With regard to the individual indigenous child, the State party has the obligation to respect the child's right to express his or her view in all matters affecting him or her, directly or through a representative, and give due weight to this opinion in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. The obligation is to be respected in any judicial or administrative proceeding. Taking into account the obstacles which prevent indigenous children from exercising this right, the State party should provide an environment that encourages the free opinion of the child. The right to be heard includes the right to representation, culturally appropriate interpretation and also the right not to express one's opinion.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The rights of children with disabilities 2007, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- All appropriate and necessary measures undertaken to protect and promote the rights of children with disabilities must include and pay special attention to the particular vulnerability and needs of children belonging to minorities and indigenous children who are more likely to be already marginalized within their communities. Programmes and policies must always be culturally and ethnically sensitive.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This includes violence in all its forms against children in order to extract a confession, to extrajudicially punish children for unlawful or unwanted behaviours, or to force children to engage in activities against their will, typically applied by police and law-enforcement officers, staff of residential and other institutions and persons who have power over children, including non-State armed actors. Victims are often children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and discriminated against and who lack the protection of adults responsible for defending their rights and best interests. This includes children in conflict with the law, children in street situations, minorities and indigenous children, and unaccompanied children. The brutality of such acts often results in life-long physical and psychological harm and social stress.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- In 2001, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights appointed a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples, subsequently confirmed by the Human Rights Council in 2007. The Council has requested the Special Rapporteur to pay particular attention to the situation of indigenous children and several recommendations included in his annual and mission reports have focused on their specific situation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The Committee underlines the importance that the media have particular regard for the linguistic needs of indigenous children, in accordance with articles 17 (d) and 30 of the Convention. The Committee encourages States parties to support indigenous children to have access to media in their own languages. The Committee underlines the right of indigenous children to access information, including in their own languages, in order for them to effectively exercise their right to be heard.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous children who have been displaced or become refugees should be given special attention and humanitarian assistance in a culturally sensitive manner. Safe return and restitution of collective and individual property should be promoted.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph