A/66/288
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of
indigenous peoples
Summary
The present report provides an overview of the activities carried out by the
Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, during the first
three-year term of his mandate, which began in May 2008. In particular, the report
describes the Special Rapporteur’s efforts to coordinate with global and regional
mechanisms concerned with indigenous issues and outlines the work undertaken
within four interrelated spheres of activity: promoting good practices, country
reports, cases of alleged human rights violations and thematic studies.
The report includes summaries of the thematic studies that the Special
Rapporteur has included in the annual reports he has submitted to date to the Human
Rights Council. These includes studies on the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the duty of States to consult with and obtain the
consent of indigenous peoples before adopting measures that affect them; the
responsibility of corporations to respect the rights of indigenous peoples; and,
building on these themes, issues related to extractive industries operating in or near
indigenous peoples’ traditional territories.
Contents
Page
I.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
II.
Coordination with other mechanisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
III.
Areas of work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
A.
Promoting good practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
B.
Country reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
C.
Specific cases of alleged human rights violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
D.
Thematic studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Overview of key thematic issues examined. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
A.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
B.
The duty to consult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
C.
Corporate responsibility with respect to the human rights of indigenous peoples . . . . . . .
18
D.
Extractive industries operating in or near industrial territories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
IV.
V.
2
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