A/HRC/33/42/Add.2 that they traditionally possess, in accordance with national legislation and International Labour Organization Convention No. 169”.2 11. One cause for concern is the Property Act (2004), which provides for the registration of indigenous lands by the Property Institute. The Act recognizes the traditional forms of tenure of indigenous lands, their inalienability and immunity from seizure and the nonapplicability of statutory limitations. 3 However, it permits communities to “terminate a communal regime, to authorize leases to third parties” or to authorize contracts for investment in development. 4 The Act grants ownership rights to a third party that has obtained title within communal lands and taken possession of such lands, and also the right to compensation for any improvements made, if the title in question was voidable. If the third party had no title, “it could reach agreement on obtaining tenure, with the community paying the appropriate ground rent”.5 Representatives of the indigenous peoples say that these provisions infringe the guarantees of the inalienability of indigenous lands, according to international standards, and legitimize the presence of outsiders without the consent of the indigenous peoples. 12. The Office of the Special Prosecutor for Ethnic Groups and Cultural Heritage was established in 1994 as a specialized department of the Public Prosecution Service to adjudicate on complaints of violations of indigenous peoples’ rights, to oversee the implementation of international standards and to ensure the observance of due process for indigenous persons involved in criminal trials. The Office has handled numerous complaints relating to the murder of indigenous leaders, the appropriation of lands and the approval of development projects without prior consultation. 13. The Directorate of Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Peoples attached to the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion has the task of formulating, coordinating and implementing programmes and policies relating to indigenous peoples in the area of social and economic development. Before 2014, it was a ministry. Its change of status in 2014 was seen by representatives of the indigenous peoples as indicating a reduction in resources and political support for indigenous affairs. The Directorate informed the Special Rapporteur that its budget has not been reduced and, indeed, has increased. 14. According to the Directorate, it has promoted the following legislative and public policy initiatives, which have been agreed with representatives of the indigenous peoples and will be submitted to the executive or the legislature for approval: the Public Policy against Racism and Racial Discrimination for the Comprehensive Development of Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Peoples, which addresses social and political participation, intercultural education and health, lands and natural resources and access to justice; the draft special law on the rights of indigenous peoples and people of African descent, which includes provisions on the registration, expansion, upgrading and delimitation of indigenous lands, education, natural resources, cultural heritage, justice and a new institutional structure for indigenous affairs; and a draft framework law on engaging in consultations with indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples and obtaining their free, prior and informed consent. The Special Rapporteur found that the representatives of indigenous peoples or the State officials whom she met had little or no knowledge of these initiatives. Moreover, it is a matter of concern that indigenous organizations have publicly rejected the draft law on consultation because there has not been full consultation with all the 2 3 4 5 GE.16-12632 Forest, Protected Areas and Wildlife Act, Decree No. 98-2007, art. 45. Property Act, Decree No. 82-2004, arts. 94, 100 and 102. Ibid., art. 100. Ibid., arts. 97-99. 5