A/HRC/37/59 44. States should develop environmental education, awareness and information programmes to overcome obstacles such as illiteracy, minority languages, distance from government agencies and limited access to information technology, in order to ensure that everyone has effective access to such programmes and to environmental information in forms that are understandable to them. States should also take steps to ensure the equitable and effective participation of all affected segments of the population in relevant decisionmaking, taking into account the characteristics of the vulnerable or marginalized populations concerned. 45. States should ensure that their legal and institutional frameworks for environmental protection effectively protect those who are in vulnerable situations. They must comply with their obligations of non-discrimination (framework principle 3), as well as any other obligations relevant to specific groups. For example, any environmental policies or measures that may affect children’s rights must ensure that the best interests of children are a primary consideration.28 46. In developing and implementing international environmental agreements, States should include strategies and programmes to identify and protect those vulnerable to the threats addressed in the agreements. 29 Domestic and international environmental standards should be set at levels that protect against harm to vulnerable segments of the population, and States should use appropriate indicators and benchmarks to assess implementation. When measures to safeguard against or mitigate adverse impacts are impossible or ineffective, States must facilitate access to effective remedies for violations and abuses of the rights of those most vulnerable to environmental harm. Framework principle 15 States should ensure that they comply with their obligations to indigenous peoples and members of traditional communities, including by: (a) Recognizing and protecting their rights to the lands, territories and resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied or used; (b) Consulting with them and obtaining their free, prior and informed consent before relocating them or taking or approving any other measures that may affect their lands, territories or resources; (c) Respecting and protecting their traditional knowledge and practices in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of their lands, territories and resources; (d) Ensuring that they fairly and equitably share the benefits from activities relating to their lands, territories or resources. Commentary 47. Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to environmental harm because of their close relationship with the natural ecosystems on their ancestral territories. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), as well as other human rights and conservation agreements, set out obligations of States in relation to the rights of indigenous peoples. Those obligations include, but are not limited to, the four highlighted here, which have particular relevance to the human rights of indigenous peoples in relation to the environment. 28 29 18 Sacred Sites and on Lands and Waters Traditionally Occupied or Used by Indigenous and Local Communities. See Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 3 (1). See, for example, Minamata Convention on Mercury, art. 16 (1) (a), annex C.