A/HRC/12/34/Add.3 page 6 past. Indigenous peoples are striving to be full participants in this process, and to achieve self-determination and protection of related collective and individual rights within the framework of a pluralistic Nepali State. III. THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES A. The indigenous peoples of Nepal 11. It is difficult to divide the population of Nepal into indigenous versus non-indigenous sectors if the term “indigenous” is taken in a general sense and without regard to certain contextual factors. The country’s population overall is the product of a long and complex history of original settlement and migration both into and within the territory of present-day Nepal, and of social and political processes that are strongly rooted in that territory and date back centuries. Nepal was never colonized by a foreign Power, and it could be said that all or almost all of the Nepali population are indigenous, having an identity that is inextricably wedded to the country’s geography. 12. However, in Nepal the particular groups that collectively are called Adivasi Janajati are identified in English both by the Government and by these groups themselves in their relations with national and international actors as “indigenous peoples” or “nationalities” distinct from the rest of the country’s population. The Sanskrit term Adivasi means the earliest or first settlers and Janajati means population groups that are outside the Hindu varna, or caste, system. Thus, Adivasi Janajati is a widely accepted categorization within the mapping of the country’s complex mosaic of ethnic identity, used to identify those culturally distinct groups whose ancestors inhabited parts of present-day Nepal before the arrival of the Hindus centuries ago, and that have been excluded from the dominant social and religious hierarchy. 13. In the view of the Special Rapporteur, the Adivasi Janajati groups are aptly considered indigenous peoples within the scope of his mandate, given not just their self-identification as such, but also the history of subjugation they have suffered within a pattern of encroachment by others and the set of human rights problems they commonly face that are related to their distinct group identities. These problems, with their historical origins, are similar to those of peoples throughout the world that are identified as indigenous and that are the subjects of special international concern. Adivasi Janajati are indigenous peoples in a sui generis sense, with a status apart from that of the rest of Nepali society. This does not mean that they enjoy human rights that are in a fundamental sense unique to them and not enjoyed by other Nepalis, but rather that they share a common set of human rights issues that deserve special attention and that are addressed under the international rubric of indigenous peoples. 14. According to the National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities Act of 2002, Adivasi Janajati, that is, indigenous peoples or nationalities, are defined as those ethnic groups or communities that “have their own mother tongue and traditional customs, distinct cultural identity, distinct social structure and written or oral history of their own”. The Government of Nepal officially lists 59 groups as Adivasi Janajati. According to the 2001 Government census, indigenous people constitute 37.19 per cent of the total population,