A/HRC/24/50 All of the above are contributing factors that bear on the ability of indigenous individuals and peoples to gain access to justice. 26. Challenges also include discriminatory laws and practices, lack of funding necessary to seek justice, including legal aid,25 insufficient numbers of indigenous judges and lawyers, and biases against indigenous peoples and individuals involved in legal proceedings. 2. Remedies 27. States must provide remedies, reparations and, where appropriate, public apologies, public memorials and guarantees of non-repetition for violations of indigenous peoples’ right to freedom from discrimination.26 C. Cultural rights 28. The cultural rights of indigenous peoples include recognition and practice of their justice systems (A/HRC/21/53, para. 21), as well as recognition of their traditional customs, values and languages by courts and legal procedures.27 Cultural rights are interrelated with the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples, and therefore, to access to justice, as set out by numerous provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, specifically articles 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 25, 31 and 36. 1. Barriers 29. Cultural rights often go unrecognized. In the case of linguistic rights, for example, challenges include a lack of bilingual interpreters and training in indigenous languages informing people about mechanisms that facilitate access to justice. 28 A 2012 study in Guatemala found that the majority of indigenous inmates in selected prisons had not been offered language-appropriate legal services or information in indigenous languages regarding their detention.29 2. Remedies 30. Positive examples include measures to ensure the use of indigenous languages in courts,30 as well as providing for training of officials on indigenous history, legal traditions and customs.31 31. A notable example of efforts to ensure culturally appropriate justice is the Cree Court, a circuit court handling criminal and child protection matters established by the Saskatchewan Provincial Court of Canada. The Cree Court conducts hearings entirely or partially in Cree and encourages the participation of community leaders in the criminal justice system, recognizing the community’s role in supporting both the victims and the 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 8 See, for example, Human Rights Committee, concluding observations on Australia (CCPR/C/AUS/CO/5). Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 28, para. 32. See Expert Mechanism advice No. 3 (2012). See, for example, the report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers on her mission to Mexico (A/HRC/17/30/Add.3), paras. 80–81. Procurador de los Derechos Humanos, “Los derechos humanos de personas indígenas privadas de libertad en el marco de pluralismo jurídico” (2012). See, for example, the submissions of Finland and Norway. Submission: Canadian Human Rights Commission.