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indigenous peoples, the Commission had established a system that allowed an indigenous
person to access legal services in his or her indigenous language through the provision of
translators. It was estimated that, in the period from 1 December 2012 to 31 May 2016, the
Commission had provided language support services to 3,888 indigenous persons.
47.
Indigenous peoples’ organizations described advances in that area, in one case with
support from the private sector. In other cases, while constitutional recognition of
indigenous languages existed, there were no measures taken to ensure their promotion and
protection.
F.
Non-discrimination and equality
48.
The questionnaire posed the following question: “Have specific legislative, policy or
administrative measures relating to non-discrimination and equality been adopted? If yes,
please provide details. If not, please outline any plans to develop legislative, policy or
administrative measures in this area.”
49.
Finland had the new Non-Discrimination Act (1324/2014), which provided for the
appointment of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman and expanded the scope of protection
against discrimination. The Act applied to all public and private activities and included
obligations for public authorities to develop “equality plans” concerning education and
employment. The Act was overseen by a new tribunal, which covered all grounds of
discrimination and could undertake conciliation between parties and impose fines in order
to reinforce its decisions.
50.
Discrimination and vilification on the basis of race was prohibited in Australia under
the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and individuals who experienced such discrimination
could make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
51.
Article 9 of the Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia stated that one of
the essential functions of the State was to create a just society, free from discrimination and
exploitation. Article 14 of the Constitution stipulated that the State prohibited and
sanctioned all forms of discrimination. The country also had a law against racism and all
forms of discrimination. That law had the objective of establishing mechanisms and
processes to prevent and sanction acts of racism and all forms of discrimination.
52.
Peru reported on measures taken in the health sector to ensure indigenous peoples’
access to health services on a non-discriminatory basis, as well as to ensure that those
services were intercultural in nature. Peru also had a national policy on the mainstreaming
of a multicultural approach, which was mandatory for all State institutions.
53.
Canada responded that it had a constitutional and legislative framework protecting
the rights of indigenous peoples, including in relation to discrimination and equality. It was
also launching an inquiry to address known forms of gender-based discrimination related to
the transmission of Indian status.
54.
Mexico guaranteed the right to non-discrimination and equality through its national
constitution, as well as through various legislative instruments, such as article 3 of the
General Law for Equality between Men and Women. The National Commission for the
Development of Indigenous Peoples also contributed to the protection of those rights
through various national programmes, such as the National Programme for Equality and
Non-Discrimination 2014-2018.
55.
Responses from indigenous peoples’ organizations emphasized that, despite
constitutional and/or legislative guarantees, structural discrimination against indigenous
peoples persisted.
8