A/76/202 provided in their own language”. It follows therefrom that indigenous peoples livi ng outside their communities also have the right to have access to an education in their own culture and language, whenever possible. 2 Furthermore, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which nearly every State is a party, sets out in article 30 t hat a child who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion or to use his or her own language. 10. In that regard, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is also of importance, in particular in terms of the right to an adequate standard of living (art. 11), the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (art. 12) and the right to education (art. 13). Article 11 also recognizes the right to adequate housing and protection against forced eviction, as established in general comment No. 7 (1997) on forced evictions of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant also recognizes the right to take part in cultural life (art. 15, para. 1 (a)). The Committee highlights the importance of such a right for indigenous peoples as follows: The decision by a person whether or not to exercise the right to take part in cultural life individually, or in association with others, is a cultural choice and, as such, should be recognized, respected and protected on the basis of equality. This is especially important for all indigenous peoples, who have th e right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 3 B. Factors driving urbanization 11. In many parts of the world, indigenous peoples remain on their ancestral territories in rural areas. Nonetheless, globalization is accelerating thei r migration to urban centres. In some countries, the majority of indigenous peoples reside in cities. 4 While precise data are lacking, estimates by ILO suggest that approximately 69 per cent of North American indigenous peoples live in urban areas, 17.9 p er cent of African indigenous peoples, 27.2 per cent of Asian and Pacific indigenous peoples, 33.6 per cent of indigenous peoples in Europe and Central Asia and 52.2 per cent of indigenous peoples from Latin America and the Caribbean. Globally, therefore, estimates suggest that over one quarter of the world’s indigenous population lives in urban areas. 5 12. Indigenous peoples may also find themselves residing in their traditional territories that have transformed into metropolitan areas over time, resulting in their urbanization and dispossession and loss of their ancestral lands. For example, the city of Santa Cruz, Plurinational State of Bolivia, was inhabited by the Chané, Guarani __________________ 2 3 4 5 6/20 A/HRC/12/33, para. 33. General comment No. 21 (2009) on the right of everyone to take part in cultural life, para. 7. For example, Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, the United States of America, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). See A/HRC/4/32, para. 65; Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Guaranteeing Indigenous People’s Rights in Latin America: Progress in the Past Decade and Remaining Ch allenges – Summary (Santiago, 2013), p. 56; A/HRC/EMRIP/2019/2/Rev.1, para. 13; A/74/183; and intervention by the National Association of Friendship Centres (virtual consultation). ILO, Implementing the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169: Towards an Inclusive, Sustainable and Just Future (Geneva, 2020), p. 58. 21-10081