A/67/301
the Human Rights Council at its twenty-first session, in September 2012. The
Special Rapporteur made a public presentation of his report on the situation of
indigenous peoples in Argentina by means of a videoconference, with the
cooperation of the United Nations country team and the Government of Argentina,
in what he considers to be a good practice. He hopes to be able to replicate this
practice following other country visits.
16. In August and September 2012, the Special Rapporteur will visit El Salvador
and Namibia respectively. He is very grateful for the excellent cooperation of the
Governments of those two countries in planning his visits. The Special Rapporteur
hopes that his outstanding requests for visits to other countries will also be
considered favourably.
4.
Thematic issues
17. The Special Rapporteur has continued to examine recurring issues of interest
and concern to indigenous peoples worldwide. In his annual report to the Human
Rights Council at its twenty-first session, the Special Rapporteur has provided
comments on the issue of violence against indigenous women, emphasizing the need
for a holistic approach to combating that violence (A/HRC/21/47). In the same
report, he has also provided an update on his ongoing thematic study on the issue of
the extractive industries.
18. In connection with his study on the extractive industries, the Special
Rapporteur has addressed some of the issues that have arisen during his
consultations over the past year with indigenous peoples, business enterprises,
States and non-governmental organizations. In particular, he noted that a focus on
the rights implicated in the context of a specific extractive or development project is
an indispensable starting point for discussions involving extractive industries
operating in or near indigenous lands. In this connection, he noted that consultation
and standards of free, prior and informed consent are best conceptualized as
safeguards against measures that may affect the rights of indigenous peoples.
19. The Special Rapporteur also suggested that the “protect, respect and remedy”
framework, which is incorporated into the Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights, should be applied to advance the specific rights of indigenous
peoples in the same way as it is applied to advance human rights more generally.
Lastly, the Special Rapporteur noted that there is a fundamental problem with the
current model of natural resource extraction, in which plans are developed with little
or no involvement of the affected indigenous community or peoples concerned and
in which the corporation is both in control and the primary beneficiary of the
extractive operation. He suggested that a new model more conducive to the selfdetermination of indigenous peoples is needed, which he will examine in more
detail in a future report.
20. In section III below, the Special Rapporteur examines another thematic issue
that has been of recurring concern in his work; namely, the lack of conformity with
existing international standards on indigenous rights, which is often seen in the wide
range of activities within the United Nations system that affect indigenous peoples.
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