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progress made in the national inquiry. She is involved in the activities related to the
celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on
Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, which will culminate in a high level meeting in 2020 on the theme of the realization of gender equality and
empowerment of all women and girls.
IV. Implementing the right of indigenous peoples to
self-determination through autonomy and self-government
12. In her previous report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur provided
an overview of the matter of the right of indigenous peoples to self -determination and
self-government, in which she considered its internal and external aspects. She
discussed the relevant international human rights framework and focused on the
importance of its realization for the achievement of sustainable development and
other international goals. She also stressed the need for further engagement on the
topic by examining good practices and solutions to overcome the obstacles related to
the implementation of the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination and
autonomy or self-government. 11
13. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur points to existing legal and other
arrangements and processes that are reflective of or conducive to the recognition and
realization of the right of indigenous peoples to autonomy or self -government, with a
view to identifying positive elements, as well as limitations and challenges, in those
practices, and provides recommendations on ways to move forward in the adequate
implementation of indigenous peoples’ right to build more inclusive and just societies.
14. The report is based on independent research, submissions from Member States
following a call in 2018 for information on indigenous self -governance systems and
the relevant reports of the mandate holder and United Nations human rights bodies.
In order to receive additional views, the Special Rapporteur co-organized a meeting
to discuss the autonomy arrangements put into practice and the self -governing
systems that indigenous peoples are developing in different contexts. The meeting
was hosted by the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples of the Government of
Mexico. 12
A.
Positive and transformative nature of the right to
self-determination of indigenous peoples
15. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that the right to self-determination of
indigenous peoples is, fundamentally, a human right. Its realization is indispensable
for indigenous peoples to enjoy all the collective and individual human rights
pertaining to them. The right has an external and an internal dimension, expressed
through the exercise of control over their lives and through the participation in all
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See also the note by the Secretariat transmitting the report of the international expert group
meeting on the theme “Sustainable development in the territories of indigenous peoples ”
(E/C.19/2018/7, para. 27).
The international seminar on the right to autonomy and self-government as a manifestation of the
right to self-determination of indigenous peoples was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Mexico in Mexico City from 11 to 13 March 2019. It was organized by the Special Rapporteur,
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues,
the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Work Group for
Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and the Tebtebba Foundation, in collaboration with the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
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