Welcome to the United Nations
Addressee: WIPO, UNESCO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, WHO, UNCHR, UNICEF, UNDP, PFII, UNITAR and other agencies, Member States
Full Text
The Forum recommends that the United Nations system consider the following recommendations:
(a) The United Nations system should fully explore the protection, use and promotion of indigenous (including traditional) knowledge and ensure synergies across the relevant bodies currently investigating the issues (specifically the World Intellectual Property Organization, UNESCO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Health Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and others) and furthermore should invite the Forum to participate;
(b) UNESCO should continue to investigate indigenous pedagogy and its application to indigenous education in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples and the Forum and other relevant bodies. The study should include the use of such strategies as boarding schools and both their negative and positive effects. To assist with this investigation into indigenous education, UNESCO is urged to facilitate regional conferences and a global forum on indigenous education to identify both barriers to educational equity and good practice;
(c) The Forum calls upon Governments and UNESCO to give more attention (by increasing their budgets) to developing quality indigenous education policies (with the participation of indigenous peoples) to achieve the Dakar objectives. “Education for all” is one of the fundamental objectives of the World Education Forum that should be achieved by 2015;
(d) The Forum encourages the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNESCO and other agencies to continue to support, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, intercultural and bilingual education programmes and to promote in particular the right of education for girls;
(e) The Forum should work with UNITAR to coordinate training for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system;
(f) UNESCO is requested to facilitate a world indigenous education conference, with appropriate United Nations partners (the Forum, UNESCO, UNITAR etc.), Member States and indigenous peoples. Furthermore, UNESCO should invite indigenous peoples and the Forum to participate in United Nations activities in the field of education. UNESCO has recently completed and distributed a publication on best practices for indigenous peoples education and this should be promoted throughout the international community;
(g) UNICEF advocates bilingual and cross-cultural education for indigenous peoples and conducts schools for girls and women’s literacy programmes in Latin America, and this initiative should be further encouraged and expanded;
(h) The Forum recommends that relevant agencies and Governments, on a regional basis, should provide technical services and the political and moral support needed for the creation, recognition and functioning of future international indigenous universities;
(i) Taking into account the importance of UNESCO national commissions, the Forum recommends that the Economic and Social Council and Governments facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples in the regional commissions with the incorporation of indigenous representation;
(j) The Forum, to underscore the crucial role of language skills to sustainable development and in celebration of the United Nations Year on Education for Sustainable Development (2005), recommends that the secretariat of the Forum, together with the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF and UNESCO, explore the possibility of organizing a regional workshop in Asia or Africa on the theme “Indigenous children and language education”, to discuss policies, programmes and practical experiences with bilingual education to strengthen additive learning through the use of mother tongue and the “indigenization” of curricula in formal schooling, among members of the Forum, United Nations agencies, Governments (especially departments of education), indigenous and tribal representatives and indigenous education experts.
Responses
Governments
The Government of Guatemala reports:
(c) Although it has established a General Directorate of Intercultural Bilingual Education and established curricula with cultural relevance,it has not been possible to increase the budget of the General Directorate owing to the fact that priorities in other areas have greater importance and national impact. However, the progressive increase in the General Directorate's economic requirements is being taken into account in the implementation of its activities, as well as the need for the support and cooperation of international organizations.
The Government of Norway reports:
(c) They consider that the Forum's recommendation to governments and UNESCO has been implemented as regards Norwegian Samis. The measures for Samis, together with the rest of the school system, are subject to continual evaluation with a view to possible improvements.
The Government of Finland reports the following:
(c) The policy aim is equitable public education. The Ministry of Education, together with the Finnish National Commission for Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Board of Education, has drawn up a national Education for All action plan, which looks at the situation in and major development needs of Finnish education from the viewpoint of the six Dakar objectives.
(f) The Ministry of Education endorses the recommendations of the third session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues concerning UNESCO. At the UNESCO General Conference, Finland endorses UNESCO's action on behalf of indigenous peoples. It is very important and must be endorsed that good practices in the education of indigenous peoples become known and are distributed.
(h) The small Sami population in Finland does not make it possible to offer higher education specifically geared for them, but the possibilities of regional cooperation should be explored. The long-standing Nordic cooperation provides a good basis for this.
However, the University of the Arctic is open for the Arctic indigenous people regardless of their nationality or location.
(i) The Finnish National Commission for UNESCO has a member versed in the rights of indigenous peoples. The Commission has been active in Nordic UNESCO cooperation, stressing the need to take account of the indigenous peoples in the education, culture, science and communications sectors. Finland made a contribution to the organisation of Knowledge in the Next Generation - Indigenous People Conference in Tromso, Norway, 23-26 August 2004.
UNITAR: e) The UNITAR international Training Programme to Enhance the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Capacities of Indigenous Peoples' Representatives, which takes place at the time of the session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, invites 30 participants each year from around the world, including the new Indigenous Fellows of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to participate in the training programme. The goal is to build on their knowledge of the United Nations system and mechanisms, and to strengthen their capacity to make a constructive contribution through dialogue and negotiation when they return to their communities. The training has been consistently described as one of the highlights of the Fellowship Programme. UNITAR works actively with Forum members in the design of its training programmes for indigenous peoples and invites members as resource persons for the purpose of addressing participants on the subject of the mandate and activities of the Forum.
f) A world indigenous education conference has not been initiated.
UNICEF:
d) UNICEF has supported intercultural and bilingual progamme for indigenous children for many years. These programmes are based on studies showing that fulfilling the right to quality education for indigenous children requires paying particular attention to their specific cultural and language needs. UNICEF has reinforced its activities in the area of education, with a focus on girls' education within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals and its Medium-Term Strategic Plan for 2002-2005.
WHO:
a) The WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005 aims to protect and preserve indigenous traditional medicine knowledge and to facilitate increased recording and preservation of indigenous knowledge of traditional medicine, including development of digital traditional medicine libraries.
WIPO:
a) WIPO continues to cooperate with other organizations and agencies on issues of concern to the Permanent Forum, and to ensure that its work on recognition and protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions and Traditional Knowledge is complementary to and supportive of the work of other relevant bodies. It invited the participation and input of the Permanent Forum to its Intergovernmental Council meeting of November 2004, and continues to invite the participation of the Permanent Forum in future meetings.
UNESCO:
a) UNESCO has continued its work on indigenous knowledge systems and cultural practices through case studies with the indigenous communities, training activities, the development of methodological tools, standard-setting instruments, the preparation of publications, information materials and the organization of expert group meetings and seminars. The different sectors work in this area on an individual and interdisciplinary basis. The Preliminary Draft Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions was discussed at the second intergovernmental meeting of experts that took place in February 2005 with an interventino from Ms. Otilia Lux de Coti, member of the Permanent Forum. UNESCO's Programme on "Integrating Pluralism and Intercultural Dialogue in the Development of Indigenous Communities" has developed a number of methodological approaches and tools on cultural resource mapping for the empowerment of indigenous communities through eight projects with indigenous communities across the regions. Two CD-Roms on: 1) Cultural Diversity and Indigenous Peoples and 2) the International Forum for Local Cultural Expression and Communication have been produced. In addition a training seminar for UNESCO staff from Asia and the Pacific and local partners on cultural resource mapping, in particular with indigenous communities was held in Bangkok from 14 to 17 December 2004. The UNESCO Pilot project "A place for indigenous people in protected areas, Surin Islands, Andaman Sea, Thailand" provides an example of how appropriate technology and 'wise practice' of indigenous peoples can be maintained through the understanding and appreciation of the indigenous knowledge. Indigenous Cultures and Conflict Anticipation/Prevention: A publication is under way documenting the role of indigenous traditions and leaders in conflict prevention as a follow-up to the First International Conference on Intercultural Dialogue and a Culture of Peace in Central Africa and the Great Lake Region. UNESCO published a brochure entitled Life Force and Life Choices (2004) within the framework of its Programme on a Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care, which outlines how traditional knowledge and culture can be a resource for facing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. UNESCO's Division on Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue further elaborated a paper on Cultural Diversity and Principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent Regarding Indigenous Peoples at the International workshop organized by the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. UNESCO is also organizing an expert meeting on Safeguarding the Tranmission of Local and Indigenous Knowledge of Nature: Linking Biological and Cultural Diversity. This meeting is organized by UNESCO in cooperatin with Japan Centre for Area Studies and the Secretariat of the Aichi World Exposition in Aichi Japan from 14 to 16 April 2005.
b) UNESCO has continued its work on indigenous education through the preparation of publications, information materials, support to regional conferences and the organization of expert group meetings and seminars. The latest publication under the title: "The Challenge of Indigenous Education: Practice and Perspectives" (2004) provides an overview of current thinking and practice in the area of indigenous education. UNESCO co-organized the expert seminar "Indigenous Education in the 21st Century" jointly with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (OHCHR) from 18 to 20 October 2004. As requested by 3rd Session of the Permanent Forum, some discussion was devoted to the issues of boarding schools as strategies to ensure the right to education of indigenous peoples. The experts drew up a set of recommendations and conclusions from the workshop. UNESCO co-sponsored the Sixth Latin American Congress on Intercultural Bilingual Education hosted by the Ministry of Education in Chile in October 2004 Additional Comments: Work in this area is ongoing and UNESCO is currently exploring collaboration in regard to the International Year of Sports and Physical Education, particularly concering the promotion of indigenous games with members of the Permanent Forum
c) UNESCO has continued its collaboration with Ministries at country level to promote education policy reform in favour of indigenous peoples. UNESCO provides technical assistance to national and regional projects and programmes for developing culturally relevant curricula and educational materials as well as classroom pedagogy to improve access and quality of indigenous education. Examples of countries with ongoing collaboration include Guatemala, Brazil and Mexico. In Asia a regional project on increasing literacy rates among ethnic minorities involves a number of indigenous communities in Bangladesh, China, Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Vietnam. In the context of Dakar Education for All Framework for Action, UNESCO has emphasized the need for culturally and linguistically pertinent curricula in which indigenous peoples' history values, languages, oral traditions and spirituality are recognized, respected, and promoted. In 2004 UNESCO published a position paper under the title of "Plurality of Literacy and its Implications for Policies and Programmes" with the intention to clarify the plural notion of literacy and suggest concrete actions through which policy-makers and programme providers might address the needs of learners more effectively.
d) UNESCO further addresses the concerns of this recommendation through its ongoing Program on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Education. UNESCO is working to promote quality education as a fundamental right for all by addressing a range of themes, including respect for cultural and linguistic diversity. Based upon the principles stated in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO at its 31st session (2 November 2001), the Organization has committed itself to supporting Member states wishing to encourage linguistic diversity while respecting the mother tongue at all levels of education, wherever, possible, to promote through education an awareness of positive value of cultural diversity and to make full use of culturally appropriate methods od communication and transmission of knowledge.
j) While UNESCO's Programme on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Education feeds into the organisation's activities in implementing the United Nations year on Education for Sustainable Development, this specific recommendation will have to be further explored with the partner agencies, especially since no provisions were made in the two-year budget planning of the organization (2004/2005)
OHCHR: OHCHR reports that the Working Group on Indigenous Populations is developing guidelines on the protection and use of the heritage of indigenous peoples, including their traditional knowledge. These draft guidelines are contained in document E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2006/5.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 3 (2004)
Area of Work
