I would like to express my absolute rejection and condemnation of the events that took place on 19 and 20 June this year in Asuncion Nochixtlán and neighbouring municipalities in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. These events have left at least six people dead and more than 100 injured.

Mexico has formally and constitutionally recognized rights of indigenous peoples including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organization and the recently adopted American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These instruments refer to the right of indigenous peoples to education in line with their cultural methods of teaching and learning, which have also been endorsed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

I would like to remind you that Oaxaca has the largest cultural diversity among all the states that make up Mexico, and therefore any educational reform must consider the ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the social and economic reality of the country.

Thus, I urge the government of Mexico to dialogue with the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) to find a solution that respects national and international obligations undertaken by Mexico to promote and protect the rights of its indigenous peoples.

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues would like to see this process of dialogue take place in an effective, participatory, and mutually respectful manner, with the goal of achieving education reform that will benefit the entire population.

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