A/HRC/15/37/Add.5 services taking into account specific ethnocultural needs; support for the development of clan communities and other forms of self-governance; and protection of cultural heritage. 23. The Concept Paper provides that “immediate measures” will be taken during the first stage, 2009 to 2011, to improve and harmonize legislation; providing a better delineation of the jurisdiction of federal, regional and local authorities; solidifying priority access to fishing and hunting grounds, and free-of-charge access to land areas for traditional use. In connection with another goal for this period, the Government has reported that a methodology for assessing damages to traditional use areas by industrial activity has already been adopted by the Ministry of Regional Development.5 This first implementation stage also envisions the creation of new nomadic schools, trading posts, and other infrastructure in areas of traditional dwelling; increasing the availability of medical services, and cultural and communications services; increasing the size of federal subsidies given to regional budgets to support reindeer husbandry and other types of stock breeding; the formation of a federal statistics-gathering system to monitor the condition of indigenous peoples, and carrying out analyses of demographic factors and indicators of the living standards of indigenous peoples after the 2010 census. 24. The Concept Paper is an ambitious and comprehensive document, and demonstrates that the federal Government is responding to many of the specific concerns raised by indigenous organizations and representatives. The Special Rapporteur heard expressions of enthusiasm about the Concept Paper from federal and regional Government officials, and also from some members of indigenous communities. One concern indigenous advocates voiced, however, was that many of the provisions are too general, which could inhibit the potential for speedy implementation or effective accountability. 25. Currently the federal Ministry of Regional Development provides 600 million roubles (about $20 million) annually, which both federal officials and indigenous representatives agreed is insufficient, to be distributed among Governments of the regional federal constituent units that apply and qualify. Funds are distributed according to the regions’ budgetary needs in relation to the size of the regions’ respective indigenous populations, and have to be used to further the seven goals of the Concept Paper; regional governments are also required to reach agreements with indigenous peoples in their territories on how to use federal subsidies before they can apply to receive those subsidies. However, the Special Rapporteur heard concerns that in some cases the opinions of indigenous peoples were not adequately considered; that despite the requirement that fund allocation decisions be made together with indigenous organizations, the money was spent on general problems of the municipalities that had little to do with indigenous issues, or, due to insufficient oversight, became subject to corruption and inappropriate uses. B. Federal structure and regional legislation, policies and programmes 26. The Russian Federation is a State with a strong federalist structure of government, with 83 constituent units under various denominations (republics, regions, autonomous areas, autonomous regions, and federal cities), generally referred to comprehensively as “subjects of the federation”, or “federal subjects”.6 Federal law is supreme throughout Russia’s territory, but federal subjects enjoy significant levels of autonomy and selfgovernance. Because the current federal structure in Russia is relatively young, based on the Federal Constitution enacted in 1993, many subtle areas of delineation of authority 5 6 8 By decree No. 565 of 9 December 2009. The terms “region” and “regional government” are used in this report to refer to any of these federal subjects and their governments. GE.10-14779