It highlights the main requirements that public services should meet to fulfil indigenous peoples' needs

To advance the understanding of States' obligations to provide public services to all, including marginalised and disadvantaged groups, GI-ESCR developed a policy brief on public services and indigenous peoples. The policy brief is based on an analysis of international human rights treaty bodies' work to highlight the main requirements that public services should meet to fulfil indigenous peoples' needs. It is also meant to be used as tool for future mobilisation and research. 

Increasingly public services are recognised as having both a legal and a direct impact on the enjoyment of economic, environmental, social, and cultural rights. United Nations and regional human rights monitoring bodies have made it clear that, to secure these rights, including for indigenous peoples, States have a duty to provide public services with specific characteristics. The policy brief finds and explains those characteristics, which are public services that are accessible, available, culturally appropriate, of good quality, gender-just, participatory, accountable, transparent, and evidence-based. 

This brief is the third publication from GI-ESCR’s on-going research into the international normative framework regarding States’ human rights obligations with respect to public services. Two previous publications have been published so far, in 2020 and 2022, titled accordingly ‘States’ Human Rights Obligations Regarding Public Services: The United Nations Normative Framework’ and ‘States’ Human Rights Obligations Regarding Public Services essential for the enjoyment of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights - The regional perspective’. 

Its final remarks are that public services are not just a charitable option but are inherently related to human dignity and must be provided to indigenous peoples by States, respecting the mentioned specific characteristics.