Significance of the United Nations for Indigenous Rights - Coursework Example

The Significance of the United Nations for Indigenous Rights Student’s Name: Institution: Date: Abstract The willingness to respect and uphold human rights by different governments shows how competent they are in taking care of their citizens’ interests. Indigenous communities in different countries have often faced discrimination and inadequate socio-economic opportunities. Some indigenous communities are not able to access viable educational opportunities for their children, which has made it difficult for them to prosper. It is important for governments to come up with appropriate programs that address educational needs of indigenous communities. The United Nations has a universal policy that guides governments about specific indigenous rights which need to be respected. The Significance of the United Nations for Indigenous Rights Introduction Indigenous rights have gained a lot of attention in many parts of the world. Indigenous rights can be described as those rights that indigenous communities living in particular areas are entitled to by virtue of living in a particular area. Therefore, all governments need to ensure that indigenous communities get to enjoy similar privileges like those offered to other citizens. One of the biggest challenges which many indigenous communities face is the inability to access good education. Since many people from such communities are marginalised, they lack knowledge and resources required to take their children to school. As a result, this exposes them to exploitative practices from their governments and other people who do not care about their wellbeing (Beiter 2006). Therefore, it is prudent for indigenous communities to be empowered by appropriate legislation that takes note of different social, cultural and economic issues that affect them. This paper will examine how indigenous human rights can be strengthened through education to improve their standards of living and general wellbeing. Methodology The methodology used in this study is mainly a synthesis of different published sources that give more information regarding the issue of indigenous peoples’ rights to education. The paper will majorly focus on the historical as well as the social application of universal indigenous rights to education and how it affects indigenous communities in different parts of the world. The UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and the manner it is interpreted will guide this discussion to find out various issues which indigenous peoples face in their quest to obtain similar education rights with other people in various countries they live in. the methodology will also look at the manner in which educational curricula are designed and how this impacts on equal access to education by indigenous communities. The methodology will also gather more information to find out if there are any links between the quality of education offered to indigenous communities and the standards of living which they enjoy in various societies they live in. The methodology will also seek to establish the relationship between education and poverty in poor indigenous communities and how this limits their ability to engage in various socioeconomic activities. The process of research will seek to establish different interventions which can be used to improve the living conditions of indigenous communities. Consequently, the paper will focus on studies carried out in different countries which compare different outcomes regarding educational standards which indigenous communities in different areas are able to enjoy in their quest to improve their living standards. Critical Analysis The United Nations rights on indigenous people mandates that indigenous people have the right to enjoy equal education rights compared to other people in any given society. Therefore, all indigenous people need to be given high quality education which addresses their cultural as well as socioeconomic issues. The education systems which children and young people from indigenous communities are taken to should be suitable for their intellectual as well as moral development (Das 2001). Educational experts who have an understanding about the social, historical and cultural issues that affect a particular economy should be involved in designing appropriate educational curricula for indigenous communities. If necessary, relevant sources of knowledge from the community can be used to design educational systems which conform to the needs and expectations of learners in a particular community. Appropriate instruments need to be used to measure the quality of education advanced to ensure that the standards of learning in indigenous educational systems are similar to those enjoyed by learners in other learning environments. It is important for children in such systems to be protected from different problems that are likely to affect the manner in which they acquire education. Therefore, indigenous people need to be provided with high quality healthcare services, good transport and high quality social amenities that satisfy their lifestyle needs. As a result, improvements in living conditions will encourage members of indigenous communities to send more children to school (May 1999). Moreover, this can make them collaborate with their governments to reduce general apathy towards formal education by some people in such communities. In some instances, educational interventions may not be enough to change dominant stereotypes in some communities which do not desire to embrace different aspects of modernity in their lives. Some governmental policies in various countries need to be changed to accommodate the needs and expectations of indigenous community members in specific areas they live. Educational models which are used to disseminate knowledge to indigenous communities must not be slanted to ensure they do not distort any relevant information. Some senior education policy makers may be tempted to distort or tone down important historical or social information to ensure learners are not exposed to accurate and sensitive information. Education should not be used to advance political agenda because this is likely to make it more irrelevant to the needs of learners (Rieser 2012). The pedagogical design that is used needs to empower learners to help them acquire more knowledge that can help them improve their own communities. Therefore, the long term objective of an indigenous educational system should be to create the perfect environment for learners to explore different types of solutions they can apply in their communities. Language is a key aspect of identity that has to be incorporated in any learning systems that are used to disseminate knowledge to indigenous communities. Elementary and middle school learners should be allowed to learn in multiple languages to develop their critical thinking skills. Some people living in indigenous communities live in closed circles and they do not get to interact that much with people from other areas (Hitchcock & Vinding 2004). Consequently, this limits their ability to communicate effectively in various languages; a factor that may become a stumbling block in their quest to increase their educational abilities. Vernacular languages can be used as the main medium of instruction at the elementary school level to help young learners internalise the knowledge they are being taught quickly. More efforts need to be made to develop appropriate indigenous literacy materials to give learners an easier time in school. Gender issues need to be addressed to ensure that both boys and girls get an opportunity to acquire knowledge without any discrimination. In many indigenous communities, boys benefit from educational opportunities than girls due to cultural practices that discriminate against girls. Some families prefer to keep their daughters at home to perform different types of chores as their sons go to school (Schimmel 2007). In some cases, early marriage interferes with girls’ education because they begin raising families in their adolescence and this has a negative effect on their schooling. Therefore, communities need to be encouraged to observe gender parity to ensure equitable access to education to both boys and girls. Community leaders and other stakeholders need to be involved in efforts that are supposed to address negative stereotypes which disadvantage girls and women from making positive steps in their lives. The issue of who is to control and fund such educational institutions also needs to be addressed to avoid unnecessary conflicts. In an ideal situation, communities can collaborate with government authorities in a beneficial partnership to strengthen mutual understanding between both parties. This makes it possible for all parties involved to come up with effective plans that improve the quality of education offered to learners in school (King & Schielmann 2004). Therefore, all stakeholders will be able to conduct regular meetings to set learning priorities in school to determine the relevant educational agenda for all stakeholders involved. They can also be able to formulate appropriate policies that guide teachers and learners within an educational system about what they need to do to make sure the quality of education being offered is of a high standard. In the long run, such schools are able to create time schedules for various learning activities that learners have to follow to increase their knowledge in different subjects they are learning. Indigenous communities are entitled to education and other human rights which are inseparable from their lives. They need to be recognised as citizens of territories they are living in to give them ample protection from different forms of human rights violations. They also have a right to enjoy all services offered by the government that are offered to other people living within that territory. Some indigenous families do not have the necessary documentation for their children and this makes it difficult for them to access important social services from the government. For instance, in Mexico, many generations of families from indigenous communities do not have birth certificates which are important documents for civil registration (Gupta 2012). Therefore, they find it difficult to access public schools and healthcare facilities because they are not accounted for as citizens of the country and this has disadvantaged them from getting equal social and economic opportunities in the country. High child mortality, malnutrition and inability to access social services determine the manner in which children from indigenous communities benefit form various educational policies that target them. Social welfare programs are a vital means through which indigenous families can be empowered to make the right choices for their children to give them hope for a better future. Moreover, some families have to deal with high rates of poverty because there are many children who depend on their parents for their needs. Such parents need to be supported to ensure that they practice family planning to ensure they give birth to fewer children who they are able to support (Abu-Saad, I & Champagne, D 2006). Community health programs should be developed to encourage indigenous communities to take seriously the issues of maternal and child healthcare seriously. This will help to address different issues these communities face which consign them to a life of poverty and suffering. Educational policies should not be imposed on indigenous communities without their involvement. An educational system that imposes too much burdens on members of a particular community is likely to contravene the rights of indigenous communities as enshrined in various international treaties. Indigenous educational systems should not be used to cause antagonism between the government and indigenous stakeholders in a particular community. Educational programs adopted for indigenous communities should only complement but they should not replace cherished cultural practices that are observed in a particular community. Such communities need to be allowed to maintain their original identities without unnecessary erosion from external ideological systems (Donders & Volodin 2007). The educational framework adopted for indigenous schools should combine both practical and theoretical forms of learning to help learners acquire beneficial skills which they can use to transform their communities. Children from indigenous communities are exposed to both home and school learning and this makes them have positive perceptions towards schooling. Recommendations Indigenous education programs should be combined with other social programs to encourage communities to send their children to schools. Educational content used to design educational curricula should be obtained from both indigenous as well as modern sources to ensure learners get important educational knowledge. An effective education model should take note of lifestyles, social, cultural and economic practices of the indigenous community it targets to register positive results. Educational curriculum designers should also look at time limits within which different educational programs are supposed to be conducted to find out how time can be used efficiently. All governments must do more to create awareness in indigenous communities to change negative perceptions that people may have towards formal education. Conclusion Indigenous people have human rights which need to be respected. Education is an important tool through which indigenous communities can overcome their ignorance and lack of exposure to modern legal and socio-economic systems. Therefore, governments have a responsibility to create favourable conditions to enable children born in indigenous communities are able to access quality education and social services. Indigenous communities also need to be involved in the running of educational institutions that are located nearby. This will make them more willing to partner with the government to develop appropriate solutions for such schools. References Abu-Saad, I & Champagne, D 2006, Indigenous education and empowerment: international perspectives, Rowman, New York. Beiter, KD 2006, The protection of the right to education by international law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Berlin. Das, JK 2001, Human rights and indigenous peoples, APH Publishing, London. Donders, Y & Volodin, V 2007, Human rights in education, science, and culture : legal developments and challenges, Ashgate Publishing, London. Gupta, A 2012, ‘Hazme visible: indigenous children's rights in Chiapas’, DePaul Journal for Social Justice, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 549-561. Hitchcock, RK & Vinding, D 2004, Indigenous peoples' rights in southern Africa, IWGIA, London. King, L & Schielmann, S 2004, The challenge of indigenous education: practice and perspectives, Unesco, New York. May, S 1999, Indigenous community-based education, Multilingual Matters, London. Rieser, R 2012, Implementing inclusive education, Commonwealth Secretariat, London. Schimmel, N 2007, ‘Indigenous education and human rights’, International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, vol. 14, pp. 425-453. Read More

The methodology will also seek to establish the relationship between education and poverty in poor indigenous communities and how this limits their ability to engage in various socioeconomic activities. The process of research will seek to establish different interventions which can be used to improve the living conditions of indigenous communities. Consequently, the paper will focus on studies carried out in different countries which compare different outcomes regarding educational standards which indigenous communities in different areas are able to enjoy in their quest to improve their living standards.

Critical Analysis The United Nations rights on indigenous people mandates that indigenous people have the right to enjoy equal education rights compared to other people in any given society. Therefore, all indigenous people need to be given high quality education which addresses their cultural as well as socioeconomic issues. The education systems which children and young people from indigenous communities are taken to should be suitable for their intellectual as well as moral development (Das 2001).

Educational experts who have an understanding about the social, historical and cultural issues that affect a particular economy should be involved in designing appropriate educational curricula for indigenous communities. If necessary, relevant sources of knowledge from the community can be used to design educational systems which conform to the needs and expectations of learners in a particular community. Appropriate instruments need to be used to measure the quality of education advanced to ensure that the standards of learning in indigenous educational systems are similar to those enjoyed by learners in other learning environments.

It is important for children in such systems to be protected from different problems that are likely to affect the manner in which they acquire education. Therefore, indigenous people need to be provided with high quality healthcare services, good transport and high quality social amenities that satisfy their lifestyle needs. As a result, improvements in living conditions will encourage members of indigenous communities to send more children to school (May 1999). Moreover, this can make them collaborate with their governments to reduce general apathy towards formal education by some people in such communities.

In some instances, educational interventions may not be enough to change dominant stereotypes in some communities which do not desire to embrace different aspects of modernity in their lives. Some governmental policies in various countries need to be changed to accommodate the needs and expectations of indigenous community members in specific areas they live. Educational models which are used to disseminate knowledge to indigenous communities must not be slanted to ensure they do not distort any relevant information.

Some senior education policy makers may be tempted to distort or tone down important historical or social information to ensure learners are not exposed to accurate and sensitive information. Education should not be used to advance political agenda because this is likely to make it more irrelevant to the needs of learners (Rieser 2012). The pedagogical design that is used needs to empower learners to help them acquire more knowledge that can help them improve their own communities. Therefore, the long term objective of an indigenous educational system should be to create the perfect environment for learners to explore different types of solutions they can apply in their communities.

Language is a key aspect of identity that has to be incorporated in any learning systems that are used to disseminate knowledge to indigenous communities. Elementary and middle school learners should be allowed to learn in multiple languages to develop their critical thinking skills. Some people living in indigenous communities live in closed circles and they do not get to interact that much with people from other areas (Hitchcock & Vinding 2004).

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