E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1 page 9 representatives of several ethnic and immigrant communities, and organizations responsible for the integration of immigrants and inter-communal harmony. Lastly, he had working meetings with a number of independent and influential persons, Members of Parliament and representatives of civil society, including Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court, Ms. Margaret Reynolds, Senator and President of the United Nations Association of Australia, and Mr. Aden Ridgeway, only Aboriginal member of the Senate. A complete list of people whom the Special Rapporteur met is appended to this report. 4. The Special Rapporteur particularly welcomed the opportunity he was given to discover multiculturalism in action on the occasion of his visit to two primary schools - Narrambundah and Hughes - in Canberra, whose curricula take account of Australia’s cultural diversity. He also discovered Australian rules football in Melbourne, where he watched a game between Essendon and West Coast: in fact, Essendon has for more than a century been the melting-pot for the members of various ethnic communities who are the backbone of this club. The celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Australia’s nationhood, which was held during the mission, gave the Special Rapporteur an opportunity to get to know a modern nation, committed to democracy, which, through respect for and pride in its cultural diversity, should be the prototype for the egalitarian and multi-ethnic State which seems to be emerging in this twenty-first century. 5. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Australian Government for its welcome and for the spirit of cooperation which contributed to the smooth progress of the mission. He also thanks the representatives of the Aboriginal communities and civil society and the independent personalities who kindly devoted some of their time to him. Lastly, he expresses his gratitude to Mr. Juan Carlos Brandt, director of the United Nations Information Centre, and his staff for their efficient support. C. General overview 6. Australia, which emerged as a country in 1901 from the British colonization of the southern lands situated between the tenth and fortieth parallels, has an area 7,686,850 km2. Originally inhabited by the Aboriginals, who were estimated to total 1 million when the first British settlers arrived in 1788, Australia now has a population of about 18,280,100, of whom more than 4 million were born abroad. The Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders number 352,970 and account for 2 per cent of the population. 7. Australia is a federal State with democratic foundations. The federation is composed of six federated states (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania) and two territories (Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory). These federated entities retain broad powers in the areas of education, justice and the police, and share a number of areas of competence with the Commonwealth, notably in economic and social matters. Some of the people who spoke to the Special Rapporteur pointed out that the Australian democratic system had been established to the detriment of the Aboriginal peoples, who had long been oppressed and had not been accepted as full citizens until 1967. 8. In the area of human rights, Australia has ratified many international instruments for the protection of human rights, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the