Indigenous persons with disabilities face exceptionally difficult barriers both because they are indigenous and because they are disabled. The Permanent Forum recommends that States develop and provide full access to educational opportunities on an equitable basis and without discrimination for indigenous persons, as recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In particular, the Forum recommends that sign language education curricula be developed, in consultation with deaf indigenous persons, which reflect their cultures, issues, needs and preferences. Where there is State or international cooperation on education, indigenous persons with disabilities should be included. The Forum recommends that countries that have not yet ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities do so urgently.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States, in collaboration with indigenous peoples and United Nations agencies, including UNICEF and UNESCO, prepare a comprehensive report on the number of indigenous languages spoken in each State. It is important to identify the current numbers and ages of fluent speakers of each indigenous language, in addition to measures, including constitutional, legislative, regulatory and policy measures, as well as financial support, whether ongoing or project-based, by States, United Nations agencies and indigenous peoples, to ensure that indigenous languages continue to be used, survive and thrive and do not become extinct.