E/2004/43 E/C.19/2004/23 4. Human rights Introduction 40. The Forum reiterates its recommendations made at its second session, in particular those contained in chapter I, section B, paragraphs 83 to 94 of the report.2 41. In the spirit of the special theme of its third session, “indigenous women”, the Forum recognizes that the instruments relating to human rights, including the fundamental rights of indigenous women and girls, have been elaborated. Nevertheless, indigenous women continue to be one of the most marginalized groups in many countries, being victims of serious acts of discrimination and flagrant violations of their fundamental rights. The continuing gap between the proclamation and the implementation of human rights is largely due to the lack of commitment on the part of Governments to fully promote and protect those rights, as well as to the lack of awareness of human rights and fundamental freedoms in society, including at the community level. Recommendations to member States 42. The Forum recommends that Governments: (a) Respect the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, in particular women and children, and ensure that they are able to exercise these rights in accordance with international human rights standards; (b) Include relevant information on the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women, in the reports presented to the Committee on the Elimination of All Discrimination against Women and other relevant human rights bodies; (c) Create mechanisms to ensure access to legal processes, especially for indigenous women, to enable them to take advantage of available juridical instruments including free legal aid, in cases of violations of their fundamental rights; (d) Encourage the appointment of qualified indigenous women to decisionmaking positions in the areas of administration and public service. Recommendations to the United Nations system 43. The Forum recommends that the relevant United Nations entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in particular its Division for the Advancement of Women, UNICEF, UNIFEM, the Department of Public Information and ILO: (a) Encourage the dissemination of information in indigenous languages at the local level, concerning the rights of indigenous peoples, especially indigenous women; (b) Encourage and support the training of indigenous women in human rights and the rule of law; (c) Provide technical assistance to governments to establish the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, especially indigenous women. 15