A/HRC/15/37/Add.4 81. The Commonwealth and state governments should, in cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, enhance efforts to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ own governance structures, and increase the capacity of indigenous leadership at all levels. 82. Any government decision that has the effect of limiting or removing indigenous decision-making authority should be reconsidered and evaluated in light of Australia’s human rights obligations. 83. The Government should collaborate with the Australian Human Rights Commission to ensure that adequate remedies, including compensation, are provided as a matter of urgency to the Stolen Generation victims. Lands, territories and resources 84. The Special Rapporteur recognizes the efforts of the Commonwealth and state governments in recent decades to advance the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their lands, territories and resources. Continued efforts should be made to uphold the rights of indigenous peoples over their lands and resources and guarantee for these peoples a sustainable basis for economic, social and cultural development. 85. The Commonwealth and state governments should ensure that all laws and administrative practices related to lands and natural resources align with international standards concerning indigenous rights to lands, territories and resources. To this end, the Government should establish a mechanism to undertake a comprehensive review at the national level of all such laws and related institutions and procedures, giving due attention to the relevant reports of the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 86. Legislative and administrative mechanisms that allow for the extraction of natural resources from indigenous territories should conform to relevant international standards, including those requiring adequate consultations with the affected indigenous communities, mitigation measures, compensation and benefitsharing. 87. The Government should increase the availability and effectiveness of technical and financial resources to support indigenous representation and participation in the procedures to identify and protect indigenous peoples’ native title. 88. The Commonwealth and state governments should revise existing legislation that vests ultimate decision-making authority over Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage sites or objects in government entities, to ensure indigenous participation in decision-making and full respect for indigenous rights in relation to cultural heritage. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur welcomes information from the Government that it has proposed national reforms to improve indigenous participation in decision-making over traditional sites and objects. 89. The Queensland state government should review and revise as necessary the Wild Rivers Act of 2005 to ensure its conformity with international standards concerning the rights of the traditional owners to control and manage their lands, territories and resources. The review of the legislation should engage the traditional owners to achieve an agreed arrangement. 90. The Commonwealth Government and state governments should embrace a long-term vision for social and economic development of homeland communities, especially bearing in mind the practical, social and cultural benefits that the 20 GE.10-13887

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