A/HRC/61/49/Add.2 slavery and harm for individuals’ human rights must be prohibited. There can be no “cultural” justification of such practices. Conversely, cultural practices cannot be an excuse for the authorities not to take responsibility. While the authorities can partner with families and communities to take care of individuals with specific needs, such as older persons and persons with disabilities, they still need to provide support for them to do so, including by supporting the professionalization of certain services to better respond to needs. 78. Regional, social, gender and intersectional inequalities must be acknowledged and addressed in an inclusive manner, from a human rights perspective, in order to challenge the structural disadvantages and privileges resulting from traditional systems and colonial decisions. Where needed, LGBTIQ+ persons must have full protection of the law against exclusion and oppression. 79. Human rights require that everyone participates in the vision of the future. Policies and measures to achieve self-led development need to be developed in a bottom-up approach, with regular space given to discussions involving all sections of the population, so that no one is left behind. No one should feel trapped in inflexible cultural frameworks and roles that prevent them from developing and expressing fully their potential. Young persons must have a clearer voice in the discussion and not only be perceived as necessary to do the work; persons with disabilities must be truly included as equals. All community members, including women, must be involved in deciding which practices to maintain, adapt and erase, in a natural continuity of cultural evolution and dynamic self-regulation. V. Conclusions and recommendations 80. The Federated States of Micronesia has a lot to teach to the world regarding solidarity and commitment to its unique origins and history. There are tangible proofs throughout the country indicating that strengthening the exercise of cultural rights and respecting cultural diversity can greatly help implement other human rights objectives and achieve Sustainable Development Goals. While continuing to respect the peoples’ diversity and aspirations, the authorities need to embrace fully their political role, ensure accountability for human rights obligations and pave the way for the future. 81. Micronesians have a unique opportunity to define the best way to integrate the strengths of their traditional systems with those of the institutional apparatus. To achieve this, the articulation of the two systems needs to be consciously addressed, the implications debated and processes established and evaluated in a participatory manner. 82. To strengthen the legal protection of cultural rights, the Government should: (a) Ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as soon as possible, as it had already agreed to do during the third cycle of the universal periodic review; (b) Strengthen the recently created human rights task force to establish a full national human rights mechanism for the implementation of, reporting on and follow-up to human rights obligations; 10 and ensure that cultural rights are systematically taken into consideration in its work, including in the preparation and follow-up to the universal periodic review; (c) Ratify as soon as possible the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions; (d) Develop general guidelines on international cultural rights standards and disseminate them widely to public bodies, to ensure that they are mainstreamed across all public policies; 10 16 See, for guidance and steps to take, https://knowledgegateway.ohchr.org/nmirf/establish. GE.26-01464