The Permanent Forum is profoundly concerned about the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education regarding the extensive child-labour practices in many States involving indigenous children, which represents a grave violation of their human rights, including their right to education. The Forum urges States to consider their obligations in this regard according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and ILO Conventions No. 138 (Minimum Age Convention) and No. 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention).
The Permanent Forum notes with concern the slow progress made in the negotiations on the final protocol on access and benefit-sharing. The Permanent Forum reiterates its requests to the parties to the Convention to take into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the negotiation, adoption and implementation of the access and benefit-sharing protocol.
The Forum recommends that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations agencies and other relevant bodies provide more funds, through appropriate means, to help indigenous peoples for education, in particular, emphasizing the importance of bilingual and inter-cultural training for indigenous persons. Such funds should be used to facilitate the educational exchanges between indigenous peoples and others in order to make contributions to the cultural diversity of the world, as well as to preserve indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage.