A/HRC/39/17 7. Concerns have also been raised by other United Nations human rights mechanisms, including other special procedures and human rights treaty bodies. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has documented acts of violence, stigmatization and criminalization targeting persons engaged in the defence of environmental and land rights, including in many cases indigenous leaders and community members (A/71/281). While several reports in recent years have referred to the situation of criminalization and the risks environmental human rights defenders face, the reports have not specifically addressed these concerns through the optic of indigenous peoples’ rights nor focused on the collective impact on indigenous communities (ibid.),1 a lacuna the present report seeks to fill. B. Methodology 8. In preparing the present report the Special Rapporteur has drawn from both primary and secondary sources. Information received first-hand during country visits as well as communications sent by the mandate on alleged violations have informed the report.2 9. In order to consult a broad range of actors, the Special Rapporteur launched a public call for inputs on the subject of attacks against and criminalization of indigenous peoples and their collective impact on communities and on the available prevention and protection measures. In response, over 70 written submissions were received, primarily from indigenous and human rights organizations from various regions, the majority from Latin America. The report also draws on a review of the wealth of reports on related aspects of the subject issued by civil society, human rights mechanisms, including regional human rights systems, and independent national human rights institutions. 10. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur convened a two-day expert consultation in Geneva on 19 and 20 March 2018 on the issue of criminalization and attacks faced by indigenous peoples who seek to defend and assert their rights. The consultation provided a space for dialogue between representatives of indigenous peoples, civil society organizations and human rights mechanisms to address the particular risks faced by indigenous peoples, their causes and consequences as well as courses of action for improving the protection of indigenous peoples. In addition, a consultation with indigenous representatives took place in April 2018 on the sidelines of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. IV. Normative framework 11. An understanding of the nature of indigenous peoples’ rights is necessary to the discussion of the measures required to provide access to justice and reparations and other human rights guarantees in the context of attacks, criminalization and other acts faced by indigenous peoples as a consequence of their efforts to assert and defend their rights. 12. Attacks and criminalization affect a wide range of human rights. The causes and impacts of criminalization and violence affecting indigenous peoples must be understood and addressed within the particular framework of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and international and regional human rights instruments. These international legal sources recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination and to their traditional lands, territories and natural resources, self-government, cultures and ways of life. For indigenous peoples, most of these and other human rights are enjoyed collectively, reflecting the special relationship with their traditional lands, territories and natural resources which forms the basis of their collective identity and their physical, economic and cultural survival. 1 2 4 See also Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report on the Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders (2015). Information on all communications sent by the mandate holders can be consulted at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/.