A/HRC/24/50 1. Barriers 42. Where indigenous peoples are victims of crimes, in some cases, the response is inadequate, including as a result of insufficient State support for appropriate policing,44 or where there is a lack of impartiality on the part of law enforcement agencies.45 Access to justice can be blocked where law enforcement is not available or its officers fail to act appropriately, including by not recording complaints or undertaking genuine investigations. In some instances, State authorities decline to prosecute in cases involving indigenous victims. 46 Further, indigenous victims are also less likely to report crimes committed against them. 43. Existing data demonstrates that indigenous persons often experience disproportionately high rates of detention. In Australia, for example, indigenous adults are 14 times more likely to be imprisoned. 47 Such figures demonstrate discrimination in all stages of criminal justice systems.48 44. In detention, indigenous peoples may face a higher likelihood of segregation and maximum security designation, and may be held in substandard conditions with inadequate access to basic services. In addition, imprisonment can cause particular challenges because of separation from family, community and culture. 45. The ability of indigenous persons to effectively participate in domestic criminal proceedings, either as victims or defendants, can be questioned on the basis of a number of cultural and socioeconomic factors. In addition, until discriminatory aspects of criminal laws and their enforcement are themselves corrected, access to justice systems alone will not be sufficient to ensure access to justice.49 2. Remedies 46. Many of these inequalities have been addressed by the United Nations human rights treaty bodies. For example, in relation to administration of justice, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has called on States to ensure equal access to justice for all communities by providing legal aid, facilitating group claims, encouraging NGOs to defend community rights; to ensure that judicial authorities and officials take the protections in the Convention into account; and to encourage descent-based communities to become police and other law enforcement and justice officials.50 In their submissions to the Expert Mechanism, a number of States, including Japan, Finland and Norway, noted measures to help overcome such inequalities. 47. In terms of sentencing, international law provides that, in imposing penalties on indigenous persons, their economic, social and cultural characteristics should be 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Asian Legal Resource Center, Human Rights Council panel discussion (footnote 39). See, for example, Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues “Mission to Bolivia: report and recommendations” (2009). United States Government Accountability Office, “U.S. Department of Justice declinations of Indian country criminal matters” (13 December 2010), p. 3. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Prisoners in Australia”, p. 8. Available from www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/7B05CD44A0E2FC8ACA25795F000DBD0F/$Fil e/45170_2011.pdf. See, for example, Moana Jackson, “The Maori and the criminal justice system” (1987). Submission: National Indian Youth Council (United States), p. 4. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 29 (2002), paras. 21, 22 and 24. 11