A/HRC/48/74 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 33/25, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples decided, at its thirteenth session, to prepare a study on the rights of the indigenous child. For this purpose, the Expert Mechanism held a virtual seminar on 16 and 17 November 2020 with the collaboration of the Centre for Children, Youth and Family Research of the University of Greenland. The study was informed by the presentations made at that seminar and at the fourteenth session of the Mechanism, and the submissions of Member States, indigenous peoples, including children, national human rights institutions, academics and others.1 The Expert Mechanism encouraged children and those working with them to make submissions and presentations. 2. The Expert Mechanism sees the study as an opportunity to integrate a human and children’s rights-based approach into the interpretation of the rights of indigenous children under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In the study, both the individual and collective rights of indigenous children and the interplay between them are examined. The study incorporates the seminal principle of the best interests of the child in the context of indigenous children. The Expert Mechanism has adopted the definition of the child from the Convention on the Rights of the Child: “a child means any human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier” (art. 1). 3. The capacity of indigenous peoples to meet their children’s needs depends on their ability to exercise their right to self-determination and is essential when considering existing gaps in areas such as education and child welfare. That critical link was made by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, in which they stated “When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish.” Ties to traditional territories are also central to the ability of indigenous children to reach their potential and exercise the full panoply of their rights, including cultural rights and the right to health. 4. Globally, indigenous peoples, including children, have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and accompanying containment measures. 2 That has been particularly acute for those with intersecting vulnerabilities, including girls and children with disabilities, and there is a real risk that in the recovery phase indigenous children will be left even further behind. II. Legal framework A. General international human rights law Convention on the Rights of the Child 5. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its protocols are the pillars of children’s rights and guarantee all children the rights enshrined therein. The Convention emphasizes the active role of children in promoting and protecting their rights. Four of the enumerated rights are also understood as overarching principles required for the full enjoyment of all other rights; non-discrimination (art. 2), the best interests of the child (art. 3), the right to life, survival and development (art. 6) and the right to express their views (art. 12). 6. The principle of the best interests of the child is integral for the enjoyment of all other rights and should be a primary consideration in all matters concerning children. It aims to ensure full enjoyment of all rights, as well as physical, mental, spiritual, moral, psychological and social development, integrity and the human dignity of the child. 3 In its general comments No. 11 (2009) and No. 14 (2013), the Committee on the Rights of the Child noted 1 2 3 2 Submissions and statements received for the present report will be posted on the web page of the Expert Mechanism. See A/HRC/46/72. Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 14 (2013), paras. 4–5.