A/HRC/21/47/Add.2 was conducted in 2004 and 2005. According to these figures, there were 600,329 indigenous persons in the country, or approximately 1.7 per cent of the total population. In some provinces such as Jujuy, the indigenous population exceeds 10 per cent of the population. Although the majority of indigenous persons in Argentina live in rural areas, a large percentage of the indigenous population has migrated to the cities. 7. Looking beyond the most recent national censuses, there are substantial differences in the various other census estimates of the number of indigenous persons living in the country. The methodology used in the Supplementary Survey of Indigenous Peoples has been criticized for, inter alia, failing to include a question on indigenous self-identification in cities with more than 25,000 inhabitants. As a result, alternative sources estimate that there are up to 2 million indigenous persons in the country. 8. In recent decades, Argentina has taken important steps to implement the rights of indigenous peoples. As in many other countries around the world, this new recognition has prompted indigenous peoples to make specific claims in defence of their rights to land and natural resources, as well as other rights such as the revival of their cultures, customs and languages. 9. However, the legacy of the colonial period still remains, and the historical exclusion of indigenous peoples is still very apparent. This is manifested in various ways, such as the disadvantages suffered by indigenous peoples in different spheres, the inadequate protection of their rights to their traditional lands, and their continuing marginalization and discrimination, as will be described in this report. III. Legal and institutional framework 10. Under the Argentine federal system as set out in the 1994 Constitution (and in previous constitutions), the country’s 23 provinces enjoy a high degree of autonomy and have the power to establish their own constitutions, laws and policies on specific issues, including indigenous issues. Several constitutional provisions, including those relating to indigenous peoples, are implemented concurrently by the federal and provincial governments. A. Federal laws and institutions 11. The national laws on indigenous peoples are based on article 75, paragraph 17, of the Constitution, which grants Congress the following powers: To recognize the ethnic and cultural pre-existence of indigenous peoples in Argentina; to ensure respect for their identity and their right to bilingual and intercultural education; to recognize the legal status of their communities, and the communal possession and ownership of the lands they traditionally occupy; to regulate the provision of other suitable lands sufficient for human development, which shall not be alienable, transferable or subject to taxes or embargoes; and to ensure their participation in the management of their natural resources and other interests affecting them. The provinces can exercise these powers concurrently. 12. The Supreme Court has ruled that the provisions contained in article 75, paragraph 17, of the Constitution are prescriptive in nature and give effect to the rights contained in that article, even in the absence of specific national or provincial legislation.2 2 GE.12-14947 Supreme Court of Justice, Indigenous community of the Wichí people at Hoktek T’Oi v. Secretariat of 5