A/HRC/39/17 13. The State’s responsibility to protect the rights to life, liberty and security of person is enshrined in article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in articles 6 (1) and 9 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in article 7 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Both negative and positive obligations are included: on the one hand, States must refrain from violating the rights of human rights defenders while on the other hand, they should act with due diligence to prevent and investigate human rights violations and bring the perpetrators to justice. Also of relevance is article 30 of the United Nations Declaration, which affirms that military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples unless justified by a relevant public interest or otherwise freely agreed with or requested by the indigenous peoples concerned. 14. Article 9 of the Covenant sets out the guarantees that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention and that no one shall be deprived of their liberty except on grounds established by law. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for their arrest and brought promptly before a judge and tried within a reasonable time or released. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody. 15. The right to due process and a fair trial enshrined in article 14 of the Covenant stipulates that all persons are equal before the courts, are entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty. Everyone has the right to be tried without undue delay, to free legal counsel and free assistance of an interpreter if they cannot understand the language used in court. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples sets out in article 13 that States shall take effective measures to ensure that the right to indigenous languages is protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through the provision of interpretation. International Labour Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) specifies in article 10 that preference should be given to sanctions other than imprisonment when criminal punishments are imposed on indigenous persons. 16. Self-determination is an overarching right of utmost importance for indigenous peoples as it affirms their right to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. The right to self-determination is enshrined in common article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms recognizes the legitimacy of the defence of land rights by acknowledging the “valuable work” of human rights defenders in the elimination of violations, including those resulting from “the refusal to recognize the right of peoples to self-determination and the right of every people to exercise full sovereignty over its wealth and natural resources”. 17. The failure to ensure land rights constitutes the core underlying cause of violations of indigenous peoples’ rights. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms the right of indigenous peoples to own and control their lands and territories in articles 25, 26, 27 and 32 while ILO Convention No. 169 enshrines territorial rights for indigenous peoples in articles 14−19. 18. The right to development is affirmed in several provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, notably in article 32, which states that indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources. The Declaration furthermore affirms that States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them; their free and informed consent should also be obtained prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of 5