A/HRC/12/34/Add.2 page 5 instrumental role in the preparation and execution of the visit. Finally, the Special Rapporteur expresses his gratitude to Dr. Erika Yamada and to the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva for their assistance in undertaking the visit and in the preparation of this report. II. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT A. The indigenous peoples of Brazil 7. According to Government statistics, indigenous people constitute approximately 0.43 per cent of the Brazilian population, somewhere between 700,000 and 750,000 people.1 Despite a history of invasion and ongoing threats to their survival, indigenous peoples are still characterized by immense diversity and cultural wealth. There are at least 225 indigenous peoples speaking some 180 different languages throughout Brazil, living both on traditional indigenous lands and in urban centres. Their languages, customs, rituals, and material and non-material heritage, which are fundamental to their survival, contribute to Brazil’s rich demographic mosaic. The states comprising the Amazon region have the highest concentrations of indigenous peoples, followed by the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. There are indigenous peoples in every other state of Brazil except, according to Government information, the states of Piaui and Rio Gande do Norte. 8. Academic literature estimates that there were around 5 million indigenous persons living in the territory that is now Brazil, speaking as many as 1,300 languages, when Europeans first arrived centuries ago. Due to various factors common to the history experienced throughout the Americas - including diseases introduced by Europeans, forced displacement, and violent confrontation with invaders - the indigenous population decreased dramatically, and numerous ethnically or linguistically distinct indigenous groups disappeared. 9. Despite Government policies that now favour indigenous peoples, historically rooted patterns of discrimination against them persist and are pervasive in many spheres of social and political life, the most recurrent manifestations of which are lack of participation in decision-making, threats to cultural integrity, poor living conditions and, all too often, violence.2 Many of the surviving indigenous groups no longer live on their traditional lands, resulting in urbanization of indigenous communities and a consequent weakening of their cultures, traditions and languages. Of those indigenous peoples that remain on traditional lands, many live in precarious conditions. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), while 15.5 per cent of the Brazilian population lives in extreme poverty, among indigenous people the figure reaches 38 per cent. In applying the concept of poverty in this context, due regard should be given the reduced role of consumerism and market economies among 1 The 2000 national census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) estimated a total of 734,127 indigenous people in Brazil. Survey informants were asked to indentify themselves by race or skin colour using the following classifications: “white”, “black”, “brown” (mixed-race), “yellow” and “indigenous”. 2 See E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.3.