{"id":1961,"date":"2021-02-04T22:59:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T22:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engage.gov.bc.ca\/addressingracism\/?p=1961"},"modified":"2021-02-04T22:59:02","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T22:59:02","slug":"united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples-and-in-plain-sight-addressing-indigenous-specific-racism-and-discrimination-in-b-c-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engage.gov.bc.ca\/addressingracism\/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples-and-in-plain-sight-addressing-indigenous-specific-racism-and-discrimination-in-b-c-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-Specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The In Plain Sight<\/em> independent review of Indigenous-specific racism in B.C.\u2019s health care system expressly sought to reinforce Indigenous human rights in its mandate to review evidence, analyze findings, and make recommendations. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples<\/em> (UNDRIP) is a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous Peoples worldwide. It is central to efforts to address Canada\u2019s legacy of colonialism, highlighted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as \u201cthe framework for reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are three critical themes in the UN Declaration as related to health, which informed the In Plain Sight<\/em> report. Most notably, the UN Declaration re-affirms the right of Indigenous peoples to health in Article 24<\/em> (emphasis added):<\/p>\n

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  1. Indigenous peoples have the right to their traditional medicines and to maintain their health practices, including the conservation of their vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals. Indigenous individuals also have the <\/em>right to access, without any discrimination, to all social and health services<\/strong>.\n
  2. Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. States <\/em>shall take the necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of this right<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Article 22 stresses that \u201cParticular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities\u201d, including that \u201cindigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and guarantees against all forms of
    \nviolence and discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Additionally, the Indigenous right to health includes full access to health care services in ways that reflect and are responsive to Indigenous worldviews and conceptions of health, without discrimination, hindrances or obstacles. Ultimately, the health care system must be one which Indigenous individuals feel trust and confidence to access, without reservation, and that their culture, worldview and individual integrity will be reflected and respected in the services they use. The human rights of Indigenous people are important to emphasize as the need to reinforce basic human rights is a necessary aspect of achieving cultural safety in health care. Indigenous peoples need to access culturally safe and respectful care, and to experience services that break with the colonial history of segregation and inferior treatment.<\/p>\n

    Finally, the Indigenous right to health, such as the individual rights described above based on Article 24, is inextricable from the Indigenous right of self-determination and the inherent right of self-government. Self-determination speaks to control by Indigenous peoples over their health and well-being, including through their own governing institutions, jurisdiction and laws.
    \nThese rights are specifically upheld in the context of Indigenous peoples in Articles 3, 4 and 5:<\/p>\n