CRC/C/GC/11
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be agreed following consultation with the communities concerned, may include mobile units,
periodic birth registration campaigns or the designation of birth registration offices within
indigenous communities to ensure accessibility.
43. States parties should ensure that indigenous communities are informed about the
importance of birth registration and of the negative implications of its absence on the enjoyment
of other rights for non-registered children. States parties should ensure that information to this
effect is available to indigenous communities in their own languages and that public awareness
campaigns are undertaken in consultation with the communities concerned.17
44. Furthermore, taking into account articles 8 and 30 of the Convention, States parties should
ensure that indigenous children may receive indigenous names of their parents’ choice in
accordance with their cultural traditions and the right to preserve his or her identity. States
parties should put in place national legislation that provides indigenous parents with the
possibility of selecting the name of their preference for their children.
45. The Committee draws the attention of States to article 8 (2) of the Convention which
affirms that a child who has been illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her
identity shall be provided with appropriate assistance and protection in order to re-establish
speedily his or her identity. The Committee encourages States parties to bear in mind article 8 of
the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which sets out that effective
mechanisms should be provided for prevention of, and redress for, any action which deprives
indigenous peoples, including children, of their ethnic identities.
Family environment and alternative care
(arts. 5, 18 (paras. 1-2), 9-11, 19-21, 25, 27 (para. 4) and 39 of the Convention)
46. Article 5 of the Convention requires States parties to respect the rights, responsibilities and
duties of parents or where applicable, the members of the extended family or community to
provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of all children, appropriate direction
and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the Convention. States
parties should ensure effective measures are implemented to safeguard the integrity of
indigenous families and communities by assisting them in their child-rearing responsibilities in
accordance with articles 3, 5, 18, 25 and 27 (3) of the Convention.18
47. States parties should, in cooperation with indigenous families and communities, collect
data on the family situation of indigenous children, including children in foster care and adoption
processes. Such information should be used to design policies relating to the family environment
17
18
UNICEF Innocenti Digest No. 11, Ensuring the Rights of Indigenous Children, 2004, p. 9.
Recommendations of CRC Day of General Discussion on the Rights of Indigenous
Children, 2003, para. 17.