A/HRC/45/34/Add.1 participation in the education and health systems. The Government’s strategy to improve indigenous peoples’ standard of living, although a positive step, would benefit from the meaningful participation of indigenous peoples in its design and implementation, from greater recognition of the need to protect indigenous peoples’ distinct identities and ways of life and from a sustained campaign to stop discrimination against indigenous peoples. 106. Indigenous peoples remain in a position of stark disempowerment that can only be reversed though financial and political commitments to fully implement Law No. 52011 and its implementing decrees. Additional policies need to be adopted and implemented. The development of a national framework to define and accelerate the demarcation of collective traditional lands of indigenous peoples and protect them from further encroachment by logging, the extractive industries and conservation projects would be a good starting point to restore some sense of pride and leadership to disempowered indigenous communities. B. Recommendations 107. The Special Rapporteur recalls and reiterates all the recommendations in her predecessor’s report on his 2010 visit, including those related to the elaboration of a national campaign against discrimination, economic development that has due regard for indigenous culture, identity, rights over land and resources, and enhanced participation in decision-making and international cooperation. She urges the Government, international donors, the United Nations country team, civil society organizations and indigenous communities to work together towards their full, effective and urgent implementation. 108. The Special Rapporteur makes the following additional recommendations: (a) The Government must prioritize the effective access to and ownership of lands for indigenous peoples, as this is a foundation for the realization of the other rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The recognition of both collective and individual rights to land ownership for indigenous peoples is inscribed in Law No. 5-2011. All other existing laws should be accordingly harmonized; (b) The Government should continue its efforts to adopt special measures to help redress the human rights situation of indigenous peoples. Special measures, as described by the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its general recommendation No. 32 (2009) on the meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, should not be understood to be a form of discrimination. For example, it is important for indigenous children to receive education in their mother tongue. Special measures and policies to redress inequalities can be informed by reliably collected disaggregated data; (c) RENAPAC should set aside its internal divisions and should be supported, financially and substantively, in its work and in its effort to increase the representativeness of its network and to reflect the range of interests of indigenous peoples, including by gender, age and whether they live in an urban setting or follow a traditional way of life. The Government should also seek to directly consult indigenous peoples, including, in particular, women, children and people with disabilities, for its action plans and strategies, including through consultations organized jointly with indigenous leaders or communities in the various departments; (d) The Government’s engagement in favour of indigenous peoples, notably through the implementation of Law No. 5-2011, must result in a sustained strategy at all levels of society. National efforts for decentralization are crucial for successful government action for indigenous peoples at the grassroots level. Sporadic, national, high-level government events consisting of the distribution of materials and the delivery of public speeches may be useful for drawing attention to certain issues dear to both Bantu and indigenous communities but will not have a lasting effect unless they are embedded in a more sustained, concrete and coordinated strategy at the national and local levels; 19