A/HRC/42/37/Add.1 59. In response to the disconnection between the “good way of living” promoted by the State and their visions, several peoples and nations have developed their own concepts of development, such as the work done by the Governing Council of the Shuar Arutam autonomous people, the Selva Viviente (Living Jungle) of the Sarayaku Kichwa, the Cuencas Sagradas (Sacred Basins) proposal, the Deje Vivir (Let Us Live) approach of the Baihuaeri Huaorani of Bameno and decision 001 of the Second Congress of the Greater Awá Family. It appears that the State has not supported these self-development models. I. Bilingual intercultural education 60. Article 57.14 of the Constitution guarantees the collective right of indigenous peoples to bilingual intercultural education. The Organic Act on Intercultural Education (2011) stipulates that a bilingual intercultural education system is essential to national education and should guarantee the collective rights of the communes, communities, peoples and nations (arts. 77 and 78). In the course of the past decade, however, the National Directorate for Bilingual Intercultural Education was dismantled, and the educational system was centralized around schools known as “Millennium schools”. These schools, which were set up with the stated aim of ensuring educational excellence, entailed closing down the community schools, causing major displacements for indigenous children, risks to their security and increased expenses for their families. According to a study conducted by the Kichwa Confederation of Ecuador (Ecuarunari) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 26 Kichwa communities, the new schools led to migration, erosion of community unity and deterioration of health and nutrition standards, and they had a negative impact on the preservation of languages, cultures and community values. 61. In Cangahua, representatives of the Kayambi people shared with the Special Rapporteur their vision of intercultural bilingual education, which is tied to their autonomy and culture, their philosophy of education being based on the ancestral knowledge and worldviews of peoples and nations and bound to their land and territories at all levels. In 2017, the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador stated its position on intercultural bilingual education, calling for comprehensive and continuous education that is connected to the community from the beginning level and on through higher education, stressing that the diversity and worldviews of indigenous peoples should be incorporated into the national educational system and curricula. 62. The new Government has pledged to rebuild the intercultural bilingual education system. The Secretariat for Bilingual Intercultural Education was set up within the Ministry of Education, and it has administrative, technical, educational, operational and financial independence. The Organic Act on Higher Education provides for the reopening of Amawtay Wasi University and the inclusion of interculturality in higher education. Measures will be taken to restructure the five bilingual intercultural education schools, promote traditional knowledge, create an intercultural institute of technology and increase access to higher education for indigenous youth. The Special Rapporteur was informed about Government initiatives to reopen the schools that had been closed in indigenous communities, and she trusts that this will be done soon. In addition, the National Assembly will discuss the draft organic act on the linguistic rights of peoples and nations, designed to restore ancestral languages, which must be adopted through pre-legislative consultation. J. Intercultural health 63. The few disaggregated indicators that are available suggest that there is persistent inequality in the enjoyment of the right to health for indigenous peoples. Pollution caused by extraction projects and agro-industrial activities involving high pesticide use has led to an increase in certain diseases. Similarly, the lack of culturally appropriate health services of quality in many indigenous communities, in addition to the persistence of racism and discrimination, hinder access to public services. 64. The National Directorate for Intercultural Health of the Ministry of Public Health has programmes in the area of ancestral medicine and provides training in intercultural GE.19-11328 13