A/HRC/39/17 human rights violations, indicating the devastating impacts that certain projects have on indigenous peoples, resulting in serious negative impacts on their systems of government, social cohesion, livelihoods, environment, health and rights to food and water. 30. A crucial underlying cause of the current intensified attacks is the lack of respect for indigenous peoples’ collective land rights and the failure to provide indigenous communities with secure land tenure, as this in turn undermines their ability to effectively defend their lands, territories and resources from the damage caused by large-scale projects. This is a concern that has been raised by the Special Rapporteur since the creation of the mandate in 2001. However, the urgency of addressing this situation is taking on a new dimension in view of the rapidly expanding encroachment by large-scale projects. Meanwhile, the important contribution indigenous peoples can make in terms of ensuring better conservation and climate change adaption and mitigation strategies addressed in recent reports (A/71/229 and A/HRC/36/46) cannot reach full potential if indigenous peoples’ land rights are still being contested. 31. While some countries have adopted legislation protecting indigenous collective land rights, challenges still remain in ascertaining these rights in practice. Commonly, legislation pertaining to, for example, forestry, mining and the energy sector is not harmonized with indigenous peoples’ territorial rights and these rights are disregarded to the benefit of commercial interests. 32. Disregard of indigenous rights of traditional lands ownership breeds tensions, subsequent violence and criminalization, as indigenous peoples become trespassers or illegal occupants of their own lands, subject to criminal charges such as “usurpation” or illegal occupation, and liable to forced evictions and removal from the lands they rely upon for their livelihoods, social and cultural cohesion and spiritual traditions. In the worst instances, escalating militarization, compounded by historical marginalization, results in indigenous peoples being targeted under national security acts and antiterrorism legislation, putting them in the line of fire, at times literally, by the army and the police (A/HRC/24/41/Add.3). 33. The priority of indigenous peoples is the protection of their traditional lands, territories and natural resources. Indigenous peoples question a purely commercial development model which disregards their rights and causes irreparable harm to the environment and the natural resources they depend on for their survival. 34. The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned over the rapid increase in such projects, commonly funded through international and bilateral investment agreements, as the financial gains primarily benefit foreign investors who have little or no regard for the rights of local indigenous communities and environmental protection. All too often, these projects leave affected indigenous peoples further marginalized and entrenched in poverty as their natural resources are destroyed. Furthermore, the legal construct of projects funded through investment agreements is generally designed to exclude possibilities for affected communities to seek remedies and redress (A/70/301 and A/HRC/33/42). 35. The escalation of attacks against indigenous peoples is occurring in the context of a skewed power structure whereby private companies wield significant influence over States and ensure that regulations, policies and investment agreements are tailored to promote the profitability of their business. The complexity of corporate structures in the global economy represents a further challenge as intricate and opaque layers of ownership obstruct access to information and efforts to hold the private sector accountable for human rights due diligence. 36. The Special Rapporteur is gravely concerned at the global pattern of persistent disregard for the rights of indigenous peoples who are voicing concerns over the negative impacts of development projects on their lands. Such projects are frequently undertaken without consulting with the indigenous peoples concerned, nor is their free, prior and informed consent sought. When measures have been undertaken to consult with indigenous peoples, they have often been culturally inappropriate, lacked good faith and been driven primarily by an incentive to have already elaborated projects rubber-stamped, with no intention of allowing for genuine review or participation in their design and execution. All 8