A/HRC/45/34
on monitoring the implementation of indigenous consultations and on free, prior and
informed consent. In response to a recent communication from the Special Rapporteur, the
Government of Honduras acknowledged the importance of her recommendations and stated
that it would seek the technical assistance of OHCHR Honduras in devising a more
effective and participatory methodology for consulting with indigenous peoples on the
development of a law on consultation.56
45.
Climate change and its implications for human rights are a mounting concern for the
international community, as is reflected in the call by the Human Rights Council to the
Special Rapporteur to engage more actively on this issue.57 The Special Rapporteur has
drawn the attention of policymakers to the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples,
as well as to the contributions that indigenous peoples can make to achieving solutions. In
her thematic report to the Human Rights Council in 2017 on climate change and climate
funds, the Special Rapporteur called upon donors and funds to respect and support the
rights of indigenous peoples as recognized in international human rights law; and to
implement policies and safeguards, and ensure their effective dissemination. She also
recommended training of staff, especially for staff involved in implementation at the
regional and national levels; and the development of more dedicated direct-funding
mechanisms to support indigenous peoples’ own initiatives regarding climate change and
sustainable development. In February 2018, the Green Climate Fund, following public
consultations, adopted a policy on the rights of indigenous peoples. 58
46.
The Special Rapporteur has devoted attention to the particular vulnerability of
indigenous peoples in isolation and in recent contact, since her report on her country visit to
Paraguay in 2014, in which she addressed the situation of Ayoreo living in isolation. 59
Indigenous organizations and experts have requested the Special Rapporteur to promote this
topic at the United Nations and within regional human rights bodies, and to draw the
attention of Governments and other relevant actors to the existing OHCHR guidelines. 60 To
this end, the Special Rapporteur has addressed the overall situation of these groups through
all the different methods of work available to her, including reports on country visits 61 and
communications on particular cases,62 and she coordinated a meeting and a report on the
topic together with the OHCHR Regional Office for South America and the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights. 63 These efforts combined have raised awareness of the
human rights situation of indigenous peoples in isolation and in recent contact in the
relevant Latin American countries. On 28 December 2019, a court in Loreto, Peru, adopted
a decision taking into consideration the OHCHR guidelines and, as a consequence,
cancelled the licences of proposed projects which may have affected such indigenous
peoples. 64 A civil society regional working group with a transboundary approach has
recently been established, giving a central role to indigenous organizations, as
recommended by the Special Rapporteur in her report.65
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
12
The response by the Government of Honduras is available at
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=35046.
See resolution 42/20, para. 2, in which the Council “requests the Special Rapporteur to participate,
upon invitation, in relevant international dialogues and policy forums on the consequences that
climate change has on indigenous peoples, to undertake thematic research and to develop cooperation
dialogue with States, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and other stakeholders on
effective and sustainable practices”.
See www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/gcf-b19-05.pdf.
A/HRC/30/41/Add.1, paras. 73–74 and 87–89.
OHCHR, “Directrices de protección para los pueblos indígenas en aislamiento y en contacto inicial de
la región amazónica, el Gran Chaco y la región oriental de Paraguay” (2012).
A/HRC/42/37/Add.1, paras. 65–69.
See, for instance, ECU 7/2016 and BRA 9/2015.
A/HRC/39/17/Add.1.
Sentence No. -2019-1°JCM-CSJLO-JAVT, Corte Superior de Justicia de Loreto. See also
www.servindi.org/actualidad-noticias/22/01/2020/sentencia-historica-para-la-proteccion-de-lospueblos-indigenas-en.
A/HRC/39/17/Add.1, paras. 63 and 67; and see http://landislife.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/10/Land-is-life-25-septiembre-2019.pdf,
https://es.mongabay.com/2019/11/piaci-indigenas-en-aislamiento-informe-regional-sudamerica and