A/HRC/45/22
access to justice for victims and to an effective remedy when the rights of indigenous peoples
are breached.
71.
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons urged
government institutions and civil society organizations to continue efforts on the prevention
and protection of internally displaced persons with a differentiated approach for indigenous
communities (A/HRC/41/40/Add.1, para. 49).
72.
In the context of the third review cycle of the universal periodic review, States were
urged to recognize the status of indigenous communities in their own States, with the
occasional suggestion of constitutional additions, and to recognize the legal personality of
indigenous peoples (see A/HRC/42/4, A/HRC/42/7, A/HRC/42/8, A/HRC/42/9,
A/HRC/42/10, A/HRC/42/12 and A/HRC/42/13).
G.
Indigenous languages and other issues
73.
In the context of the twenty-fifth commemoration of the International Day of
Indigenous People, the OHCHR regional office for Central Africa organized a workshop on
the political participation of indigenous peoples, from 27 to 31 August 2019 in Bertoua,
Cameroon, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs of Cameroon and the electoral
management body. Participants included municipal councillors from the Baka and Mbororo
communities, public administrators and traditional leaders. They were informed about the
challenges faced by indigenous communities in electoral processes, including with regard to
the social barriers to participation, negative stereotypes and lack of identity cards. As a result,
the regional office developed a documentary film on the participation of indigenous peoples
in electoral processes, as a sensitization tool for other countries of the subregion.
74.
The Russian State Library, with OHCHR support, organized a round table devoted to
the International Year of Indigenous Languages, in Moscow in September 2019. The event
was also supported by the Republic of Sakha (Yakutiya), where numerous indigenous
peoples live. OHCHR representatives gave a presentation on indigenous peoples rights and
the preservation and revival of indigenous languages.
75.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights underlined the difficulties faced by indigenous peoples
in gaining access to bilingual intercultural education (see E/C.12/CMR/CO/4,
E/C.12/DNK/CO/6, E/C.12/ECU/CO/4 and E/C.12/ISR/CO/4). States were urged to ensure
the use of indigenous languages in the public sphere. The treaty bodies also emphasized the
need for the protection of intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples to native seeds.
States were urged to respect the right to self-identification of indigenous communities and to
protect their cultural diversity, including by protecting indigenous handicrafts and traditional
knowledge (see CERD/C/PSE/CO/1-2).
76.
OHCHR continued to support the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples and the implementation of its amended mandate, which allows the Expert
Mechanism to engage with and assist Member States, indigenous peoples and/or the private
sector, upon their request, by facilitating dialogue and the implementation of the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, when agreeable to all parties, in
order to achieve the ends of the Declaration. In March 2020, the Expert Mechanism facilitated
a dialogue between the Yaqui people and Sweden regarding a repatriation request for a
ceremonial object, a deer head of great cultural significance for the Yaqui, which had been
acquired by a Swedish museum in 1937 in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
77.
The Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an
adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, in her
report on the right to housing of indigenous peoples (A/74/183), outlined eight key principles
for the realization of the right to housing of indigenous peoples, underscoring that the
adequacy of housing must be defined and determined by indigenous peoples themselves.
78.
In the preliminary findings on her visit to Brazil, from 28 October to 8 November
2019, the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
noted the relatively high prevalence of albinism among indigenous people in Brazil and
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