E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.2 page 7 in the United Nations and to recognize the importance of the Special Rapporteur’s visit. He also wishes to express his gratitude to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, which very efficiently coordinated all meetings with non-governmental organizations and which accompanied him in his meetings and visits. B. General background 1. Ethno-demographic data 6. Canada is a country of immigration, characterized by the rich ethnic and cultural diversity of its population, which, consists of over 200 ethnic groups and is spread over a territory of 9,976,140 km2. 7. In the 2001 census, approximately 41 per cent of the Canadian population, estimated at 31,021,300 people, reported being from at least one background other than French, British or aboriginal. The concept of “visible minority” is important to comprehend the ethnic diversity of Canada. It is defined as “persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour”.1 They account for 13.4 per cent of the total population (3,983,845 individuals). Of this number, 17.9 per cent reported being Black (or 662,200 persons), 23 per cent reported being South Asian (or 917,100 persons), 26 per cent reported being of Chinese origin (or 1,029,400). Canada’s visible minority population was also comprised of Filipinos (8 per cent), Arabs and West Asians (8 per cent), Latin Americans (5 per cent), South-East Asians (5 per cent), Koreans (3 per cent), and Japanese (2 per cent). Combined, their population of about 1.2 million represented one-third of the total visible minority population in 2001. 8. An overview of the country’s demography indicates that there were 612 First Nations in 2001 comprising approximately 52 cultural groups. Census data from 2001 also reveals that Canadian of aboriginal descent make up 4.4 per cent of the country’s population, a total of just over 1.3 million individuals (in 1996 people with aboriginal ancestry represented 3.8 per cent of the total population) although 3.2 per cent of Canada’s population actually identify themselves as aboriginal 62 per cent, or 608,850 reported they were North American Indian; about 30 per cent or 292,310 reported that they were Métis; and 5 per cent identified themselves as Inuit (45,070 people).2 Among those individuals who have reported being North American Indians (608,850), 47.3 per cent (287,584 individuals) live on reserves, while 52.7 per cent (320,863 individuals) live off reserves. 2. Political and institutional framework 9. Canada is a federal State comprising 10 provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, New-Foundland and Labrador) and 3 territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut). Although the ratification of international treaties is the prerogative of the federal Government, their implementation requires the participation of provincial Governments, which are responsible for the matters covered by the treaties. In Canada, all issues arising under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination are dealt with jointly by the Government of Canada, the provincial Governments and, under powers delegated by the Parliament of Canada, the territorial Governments.