A/HRC/42/37/Add.2 accounting for about 25 per cent of the population, are the largest indigenous group; other groups include the Mambae, Kemak, Bunak and Fataluku. The Tetum and Portuguese languages have been given official status in the country, while Bahasa Indonesia and English are considered working languages. III. Legal and institutional framework 15. Timor-Leste is one of the world’s newest countries, and since its emergence from occupation and conflict it has made remarkable progress in establishing legal and institutional frameworks. Timor-Leste has made strong commitments to international human rights standards by ratifying seven of the core human rights treaties and by setting national social development policies. 16. The Constitution, adopted in 2002, contains provision for a democratic and pluralistic society in which fundamental rights and freedoms are upheld. It guarantees a range of rights, including access to courts by all (sect. 26); the right to life (sect. 29); personal freedom, security and integrity (sect. 30); freedom of speech and information (sect. 40); freedom of conscience, religion and worship (sect. 45); equality of all citizens before the law (sect. 16 (1)); and non-discrimination (sect. 16 (2)). It also protects economic, social and cultural rights and duties (Part II, Title III). 17. Timor-Leste supported the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, and the Constitution contains several provisions which explicitly recognize the country’s customs, traditional values and cultural heritage. 18. The Constitution of Timor-Leste explicitly notes in section 2 (4) that “the State shall recognize and value the norms and customs of [Timor-Leste] that are not contrary to the Constitution and to any legislation dealing specifically with customary law”. Section 6 (g) defines as one of the fundamental objectives of the State “to assert and value the personality and the cultural heritage of the East Timorese people”. 19. Regarding education and culture, section 59 (1) and (5) of the Constitution states that “the State shall recognize and guarantee that every citizen has the right to education and culture, and it is incumbent upon it to promote the establishment of a public system of universal and compulsory basic education that is free of charge” and that “everyone has the right to cultural enjoyment and creativity and the duty to preserve, protect and value cultural heritage”. Section 13 notes that while Tetum and Portuguese shall be the official languages, “Tetum and the other national languages shall be valued and developed by the State”. 20. The Constitution contains very progressive provisions on environmental rights. Section 61 on the environment sets out that “everyone has the right to a humane, healthy, and ecologically balanced environment and the duty to protect it and improve it for the benefit of the future generations” and that “the State shall recognize the need to preserve and rationalize natural resources” and “promote actions aimed at protecting the environment and safeguarding the sustainable development of the economy”. 21. Section 27 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of an ombudsman as “an independent organ in charge of examining and seeking to settle citizens’ complaints against public bodies, certifying the conformity of the acts with the law, preventing and initiating the whole process to remedy injustice”. IV. Human rights issues A. Formal and customary justice 22. Among the main thematic issues raised during the visit of the Special Rapporteur was the relationship between the formal and customary justice systems. In the 17 years since its independence, Timor-Leste has faced remarkable challenges in establishing a 4