Indigenous children

There has been an emerging interest in indigenous peoples’ rights over the past 30 years. It is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries worldwide.1 The United Nations human rights system has contributed greatly to the heightened focus in international law and policy on the human rights protection of indigenous peoples. However, there does not yet exist a dedicated international instrument that addresses exclusively the rights of indigenous children. There are some provisions in the Convention on the Rights of the Child that directly address the rights of indigenous children.2 In addition, there is an ILO Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.3 A landmark achievement has been the General Assembly’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples4 (Declaration of 2007).