A/HRC/15/37/Add.5 regional Duma (parliament). The region’s administration works closely under a formal agreement with the indigenous organization “Salvation of Yugra” (which has 22 offices throughout the region with over 3,000 active participants) when making any decisions affecting indigenous peoples. Together, they have adopted a general policy on indigenous peoples’ rights, and over 10 laws and 40 normative acts guaranteeing the rights of indigenous peoples to priority and free-of-charge use of land, language education, selforganization, development of reindeer herding, and promoting the pursuit of traditional activities. This region is the only federal subject in the Russian Federation to have legislated a quota of indigenous representation at the regional Duma (3 out of 21 seats there are reserved for indigenous people). 57. Khabarovsky Krai has established an indigenous body with consultative status in the Governor’s office, the Regional Council of Representatives of Indigenous Peoples of the Governor’s Office, which was created in 2003 under the regional law “On Representation of Indigenous Peoples”. Each village elects representatives for its municipal council, and the heads of municipal councils sit on the Regional Council of Representatives of Indigenous Peoples, currently consisting of 15 members. All decisions of the Government of Khabarovsky Krai that have to do with indigenous peoples are discussed in consultation with the Council, and the Council can make proposals to regional and federal legislative bodies. 58. With regard to indigenous peoples’ right to autonomous governance, the federal Law “On guarantees” affirms that indigenous people may set up territorial self-government bodies in places of compact settlement, form communities and other organizations, and have courts consider their customary laws provided these are not contradicted by federal or regional legislation. In particular, the law “On Obshchina” specifies the formation of “obshchina”, or clan community, “created for the goals of defending their age-old surroundings, and the maintenance and development of traditional ways of life, economy, trades and culture”. Obshchinas may group together a single family, a few families, or a whole village, and are entitled to receive use rights for allotments of land parcels, and quotas for fishing and hunting, accommodating their traditional practices. However, the Special Rapporteur heard concerns that in practice the obshchina system does not function to adequately or consistently secure indigenous self-governance in accordance with customary patterns of community organization and leadership, and that the activities under obshchina authority are limited to those considered traditional, and thus do not include commercial activities. C. Socio-economic concerns 59. The indigenous people of Russia continue to experience deep-rooted and complex socio-economic problems due largely to the disruptive management of their communities during communism and the crippling effects of post-communist transition to a free-market economy. The socio-economic indicators for indigenous peoples are dramatically inferior to those for other Russians (see paragraphs 66 and 74). Some improvements have been achieved in the last 10 years, but efforts should continue and be strengthened especially in the areas of job creation and economic development, education, and health care in order to enable the potential for vibrant and self-sufficient indigenous communities. 1. Long-term strategies for economic development 60. The Government’s principal policy with regard to indigenous peoples is to ensure the preservation of their unique cultures by supporting their traditional economic activities. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur observed that many Government officials with whom he met seemed to operate under the assumption that if indigenous people carry out GE.10-14779 15