Rights of Indigenous Peoples A/RES/79/159 Recognizing the important contribution of Indigenous Peoples in addressing a range of issues on the international agenda, Recognizing also that Indigenous individuals have the rights to life, physical and mental integrity, liberty and security of person, and the collective right of Indigenous Peoples to live in freedom, peace and security, as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and emphasizing the importance of meaningfully engaging Indigenous Peoples in peace agreement negotiations, transitional justice processes, conflict resolution, mediation and constructive arrangements, Recognizing further the importance to Indigenous Peoples of revitalizing, using, developing and transmitting to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, cultures, knowledge, philosophies, writing systems and literature, Taking note of World Health Assembly resolution 76.16 of 30 May 2023 entitled “The health of Indigenous Peoples”, 22 in which the World Health Assembly recalls relevant principles in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, reaffirms that Indigenous Peoples have the right to their traditional medicines and to maintain their health practices, including the conservation of their vital medicinal plants, and also reaffirms that Indigenous individuals have the right to access, without any discrimination, all social and health services, Deeply concerned that, in many cases, suicide rates in Indigenous Peoples’ communities, in particular among Indigenous youth and children, are significantly higher than in the general population, and recognizing the need to support a holistic approach to social and emotional well-being through connection to land, culture, spirituality and ancestry, in addition to access to mental health services and psychosocial support, Bearing in mind the importance of promoting respect for the rights of Indigenous children, in particular eliminating the worst forms of child labour, in accordance with international law, including relevant human rights law and international labour law obligations, Recognizing the importance of access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and individuals and the need to examine and take steps to remove obstacles to justice for Indigenous Peoples, especially for Indigenous women, children, youth, older persons and persons with disabilities, Reiterating the responsibility of transnational corporations and other business enterprises to respect all human rights, while recognizing the specific challenges that may be faced by Indigenous Peoples, and all applicable laws and international principles and to operate transparently and in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, and emphasizing the need to refrain from negatively affecting the well-being of Indigenous Peoples and to take further action towards corporate responsibility and accountability, including the prevention, mitigation and remediation of human rights abuses, in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 23 Taking note of the work carried out by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including on the protection of Indigenous human rights defenders, as well as of his report entitled “Mobile Indigenous Peoples”, 24 and calling upon all States to consider the recommendations contained in the report, __________________ See World Health Organization, document WHA 76/2023/REC/1. A/HRC/17/31, annex. 24 A/79/160. 22 23 24-24152 5/15