E/CN.4/2002/97 page 20 both the native mother tongue and the official language of the State is of great benefit to indigenous children, who may become proficient in the vehicular (i.e. official) language of the wider society without losing their vernacular idiom. 65. Nevertheless, despite the best of intentions, the teaching of native tongues in schools has its difficulties. In the first place, many indigenous languages lack their own alphabets and do not have a written tradition. Secondly, the formal teaching of the vernacular tongue and of the vehicular idiom as a second language requires special training and pedagogical skills which indigenous teachers often lack. In Mexico, for example, where official bilingual education in indigenous areas has a history of many decades, the output level of students in bilingual schools is still below the national average. Furthermore, the preparation of textbooks and teaching materials in indigenous languages usually lags behind in areas where the national or official language is taught exclusively. In many countries school administrations (either public or private) are not set up to handle indigenous bilingual education effectively. To that extent, the indigenous right to education in their own languages is not being adequately implemented and requires serious attention in the future. 66. Even more problematic is the idea of multicultural or intercultural education, because this involves not only local schools but also the regional and national school systems and the educational philosophy of any country where there are indigenous peoples. The notion of multicultural and intercultural education leads to a complete revision of educational contents and methods in countries where it is applied. It basically means that the cultural diversity of the country is reflected in the curriculum and the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity become an objective compatible with democratic governance and the enjoyment of human rights by all. In some cases this approach will require the revision of traditional ideas held by majority or dominant cultural groups about national culture and identity. Indigenous peoples’ organizations often need to remind the world that their own cultural specificities are also contributions to a universal culture and not mere relics of a disappearing past. The rights of indigenous peoples to culture and education (the whole gamut of cultural rights, in fact) include the right to the enjoyment and protection of their own cultures in a wider, multicultural world. 3. Multiculturalism 67. The preservation of indigenous cultures (including tangible and intangible elements, arts and artefacts, traditions, knowledge systems, intellectual property rights, ecosystem management, spirituality and so on) is an essential component of a comprehensive indigenous human rights package. This may seem self-evident to anybody who takes the cultural rights as set out in the International Bill of Human Rights for granted. But in fact the preservation of indigenous cultures is not a natural process at all. The reverse is more likely, because, as has been well documented in the specialized literature on the topic, public policies have frequently been designed to eliminate and transform indigenous cultures because their existence has often been considered as detrimental to the idea of national integration and development. Many countries adopted specific policies to “assimilate” indigenous peoples into the wider “national” culture within the framework of cultural and social modernization. While such ideas no longer command the support they used to have, and whereas more and more States adopt positions