A/61/490 reports on the conclusions and recommendations of international seminars organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the University of Arizona, on the topic of my main report, held in July and October 2005, respectively (E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.5). 7. In 2006 the Special Rapporteur devoted his thematic report to the study of the implementation of standards and jurisprudence relating to the rights of indigenous people. During the last decade numerous constitutional and legislative reforms have been carried out in many countries in which the indigenous peoples and their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are recognized. Some of these legislative provisions are broader than others; in some cases recognized rights are limited and subordinated to the interests of third parties or broader national interests. 8. However, the standards and jurisprudence that have evolved in recent years concerning indigenous people still have not done enough to bring about substantive changes in their daily lives. The “implementation gap” between standards relating to indigenous rights and the effective enjoyment of those rights poses a serious problem meriting the close attention of the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. In the present report the Special Rapporteur has identified the factors which he believes contribute to this gap. 9. It has been pointed out that in many countries there is a gap between international standards and principles regarding the human rights of indigenous people and domestic legislation. International standards, even when ratified, do not always and automatically become part of domestic law. They are sometimes ignored by public officials as well as in the case law of the courts. Another problem reported is the lack of consistency between different laws, such as those relating to natural resources management, and indigenous or human rights legislation. 10. The main problem, however, is the “implementation gap” that is, the vacuum between existing legislation and administrative, legal and political practice. This divide between form and substance constitutes a violation of the human rights of indigenous people. To close the gap and narrow the divide is a challenge that must be addressed through a programme of action for the human rights of indigenous people in the future. 11. Indigenous people are increasingly availing themselves of international mechanisms for the defence of their human rights. At the regional level the interAmerican human rights system has played an increasingly important role and is beginning to be useful to the African regional system. At the international level the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations treaty bodies have unquestionable moral authority that is being increasingly exercised in defence of the rights of indigenous peoples. A new circle of good practices has thereby been established, bringing together indigenous peoples, States and international mechanisms, but does not always obtain satisfactory results. 12. A sign of the growing interest in the “implementation gap” phenomenon and the quest for constructive solutions to help to remedy the matter is the attention paid to follow-up on the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations. In that context, as mentioned earlier, pursuant to its resolution 2005/51, the Commission on Human Rights requested the Special Rapporteur to conduct a study regarding best practices carried out to implement recommendations contained in his general and country reports. 06-55256 5