A/HRC/12/34/Add.2 page 6 indigenous peoples. It appears clear, however, that by any standard, indigenous peoples as a whole are disadvantaged economically and in terms of access to political power in relation to most of the rest of Brazilian society. 10. There are a significant number of indigenous groups that have had little or no contact with outsiders and about which little information is available. Surveys conducted by FUNAI identify 65 isolated indigenous groups, in addition to 5 others that have been recently contacted, in the State of Amazonas, and one such group in the State of Goiás in central Brazil. FUNAI has spearheaded the Government’s policy of guaranteeing for these groups the right to remain isolated and the integrity of their territories. B. Applicable law and indigenous-specific Government policy 11. Brazil is a federal republic, composed of a federal Union (União) with 26 states, a Federal District (where the capital, Brasilia, is located) and 5,507 municipalities. The 1988 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil reflects the efforts of lawmakers to consolidate a democratic State aimed - as stated in the preamble and affirmation of “Fundamental Principles” (Title I) - at ensuring social harmony and individual rights on the basis of equality and the rule of law. The five chapters of Title II are devoted to detailing a catalogue of “Fundamental Rights and Guarantees”. 12. The specific protections for fundamental rights provided in the 1988 Constitution are supplemented by the several human rights treaties to which Brazil is a party. Under article 5 of the Constitution, as amended in 2004, and in accordance with judicial doctrine, the human rights guaranteed in treaties duly ratified through acts of Congress and the President are incorporated into domestic law and in some cases have constitutional status. Brazil has ratified the core United Nations human rights instruments3 and some of their optional protocols. 13. The domestic legal framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples in particular is based primarily on the 1988 Constitution, which recognizes the cultural diversity of the country and includes a specific chapter with two articles on “Indians”. This Constitution was one of the first in the world to secure indigenous people’s rights within the framework of contemporary thinking on indigenous-State relations, and it remains one of the most progressive in this regard. Article 231 of the Constitution calls for recognition of “their social organization, customs, languages, creeds and traditions, as well as their original rights to the lands they traditionally occupy”; provides protections for these rights, especially in relation to the exploitation of natural resources on indigenous lands; guards indigenous peoples against dispossession of or forced removal from their lands; and places a duty upon the Union to demarcate the lands traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples and “to protect and ensure respect for all their property”. Article 232 of the Constitution provides indigenous peoples and their organizations with standing to sue to defend their rights, and authorizes the Federal Prosecutor’s Office to intervene on behalf of indigenous peoples in all pertinent cases. 3 The sole exception being the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.