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decisions affecting them, especially regarding proposed activities by extractive industries.
Such procedures, he stressed, should involve genuine dialogue in which indigenous
peoples’ own development priorities were at the forefront.
11.
In addition, in October 2011, the Special Rapporteur and members of the Permanent
Forum and Expert Mechanism participated in a meeting at the headquarters of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in Paris, at which
the organization launched its work to develop a policy on indigenous peoples. In a
statement, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that UNESCO programming, just as that of
other United Nations agencies that touched upon indigenous peoples’ interests, must at a
minimum be consistent with the international standards that had developed in that regard,
as well as with relevant national laws and policies. Ideally, however, UNESCO
programming would do more than avoid harm to indigenous peoples but would actively
support their rights, as it already had in numerous instances and through numerous
programmes. He expressed the belief that a UNESCO policy could assist greatly in
supporting the rights of indigenous peoples in three main ways: first, by assisting UNESCO
to reflect on the effects of its existing programming on indigenous peoples, as part of an
evaluative process; second, by assisting UNESCO in its strategic planning for programmes
affecting indigenous peoples, incorporating the objective of protecting the rights of
indigenous peoples into programmatic work; and third, by providing UNESCO with
practical orientation for consultation with indigenous peoples, in relation to UNESCO
programmes and activities.
12.
During his time in Paris, the Special Rapporteur also met representatives of
UNESCO programmes relevant to indigenous peoples, including representatives of the
World Heritage Centre and of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section of the Division for
Cultural Expressions and Heritage. He brought to the attention of UNESCO information
that he had received in relation to the impacts on indigenous peoples of specific World
Heritage sites.
13.
Since then, the Special Rapporteur has continued to look into the issue in the context
of his visits to countries and his examination of specific cases. For example, during his visit
to Argentina in November and December 2012, he was informed of problems associated
with the Quebrada de Humahuaca World Heritage Site. In his statement following the visit,
he voiced concern about the information received that indigenous peoples living around the
site were not involved in the process of its declaration as a World Heritage site, were not
participating in the management of the site and felt limited in their abilities to maintain their
traditional and subsistence activities within the site. It is worth noting, however, that the
Special Rapporteur has also heard about positive examples in this regard, including the
recent declaration of the Laponian area in northern Sweden as a World Heritage site, which
the Sami people actively supported. The Special Rapporteur also notes as a good practice
the designation of Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, United States of America, as a World
Heritage site, which was proposed by the Taos people themselves. The Special Rapporteur
will continue to look at the issue of World Heritage site designations affecting indigenous
peoples with the hope of encouraging further good practices in this regard.
14.
In addition, the Special Rapporteur has been collaborating with the United Nations
Development Programme to produce a resource guide on indigenous peoples’ rights for its
staff and other development practitioners working on indigenous issues.
2.
Cases of allegations of human rights violations
15.
The Special Rapporteur receives many allegations of violations of the rights of
indigenous peoples in specific situations and often responds by communicating his
concerns about the allegations to the relevant Governments. In some cases, he has
conducted on-site visits to examine the situations and issued reports with observations and
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