A/HRC/51/28 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay, pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution 42/20. The Special Rapporteur provides a brief summary of his activities since his previous report to the Council1 and a thematic study on the situation of indigenous women and the development, application, preservation and transmission of scientific and technical knowledge. 2. The report focuses on the role of indigenous women as scientific and technical knowledge keepers in the context of international human rights law and identifies the current threats and intersecting challenges that they face because of their gender and identity as indigenous people. The report highlights best practices led by indigenous peoples and States and concludes with recommendations for ensuring and protecting the ability of indigenous women to develop, apply, maintain and transmit knowledge. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 3. Since he presented his last report to the Council, the Special Rapporteur has carried out an official visit to Costa Rica and academic visits to the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Sweden. He hopes to undertake country visits to Chad, Denmark (Greenland) and Namibia during the coming year. 4. With a view to improving the effectiveness of and coordination between the existing bodies within the United Nations system with specific mandates on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, during the past year the Special Rapporteur has participated in the annual meetings of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. III. Methodology 5. In preparing the present report, the Special Rapporteur reviewed previous studies, issued a public call for input, hosted a consultation on 14 March 2022, participated as a speaker in various related events and collected information during his academic and official visits. He received a total of 38 submissions from Member States, intergovernmental entities, United Nations agencies, indigenous peoples’ organizations, civil society and academics, in the form of oral and written submissions.2 A. Previous related reports of mechanisms specific to indigenous peoples 6. The Special Rapporteur has previously addressed the importance of indigenous knowledge primarily in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, 3 conservation,4 indigenous justice systems5 and in a regional report on indigenous peoples in Asia.6 The present report is the first in-depth study by the mandate dedicated specifically to the knowledge of indigenous women. 7. The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has undertaken previous studies examining the topic of indigenous peoples’ knowledge7 and has in particular addressed the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A/HRC/48/54. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2022/call-submissions-indigenous-women-anddevelopment-application-preservation-and; and https://law.arizona.edu/indigenous-women. A/HRC/36/46. A/71/229. A/HRC/42/37. A/HRC/45/34/Add.3. E/C.19/2007/10, E/C.19/2015/4 and E/C.19/2022/8. 3