A/60/358 Government has assured the Special Rapporteur of its determination to deal effectively with the social and economic problems faced by more than 700,000 indigenous people in Colombia. The visit revealed, inter alia, the devastating effects of the internal armed conflict on indigenous communities: murder and torture, mass displacement, forced disappearance, forced recruitment of young people into combat units and rape of women, as well as occupation of indigenous people’s lands by guerrilla, paramilitary and other illegal armed groups. There were also reports of the militarization of some indigenous communities. 14. The Special Rapporteur continues to be concerned at the situation of some very small communities in the Amazon region that are now on the verge of extinction as a result of the murder of their leaders, massacres, threats and the forced dispersal of their members. For that reason, since his visit the Special Rapporteur has been liaising with the diplomatic representatives of Colombia in Geneva, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and other relevant bodies and special procedures on human rights, as requested in paragraph 10 of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/51, for the purpose of exchanging information on this matter. It has been suggested that a mission should be conducted to investigate the allegations received, with a view to preventing irreversible damage from the instances of violence reported by the communities affected and by human rights organizations. The Special Rapporteur has also expressed concern about other urgent issues, including the forced internal displacement of many indigenous people, the exploitation of the natural resources on their lands, the spraying of their lands as part of the campaign against illicit crops and the need to consult them before taking decisions on matters that affect them, notably in the area of economic development. 15. During his visit to Canada, the Special Rapporteur noted the persistent disparities between aboriginal Canadians and the rest of the population with regard to the progress achieved in areas such as access to basic social services, and collected information about disputes between the various levels of government and aboriginal people concerning rights to land and natural resources. Poverty, infant mortality, unemployment, morbidity, suicide, criminal detention, abuse of women and child prostitution are issues of particular concern to the communities. The data collected during the visit showed that, despite efforts to remedy the situation, educational attainment, health standards, housing conditions, family income and access to economic opportunity and to social services are much worse among aboriginal people than among other Canadians. 16. Canada’s commitment to ensuring that the country’s prosperity is shared by aboriginal people is encouraging. The Government is devoting a large number of programmes and projects, together with considerable financial resources, to achieving this goal. Ever since colonial times, Canada’s indigenous peoples have been progressively dispossessed of their lands, resources and culture, a process that has led them into destitution, deprivation and dependency. Current negotiated land claims agreements between Canada and aboriginal peoples are intended to provide certainty and predictability, but require aboriginal people to waive certain rights in exchange for specific compensation packages, a situation that has led in several instances to legal controversy and occasional confrontation. In his report on Canada, the Special Rapporteur makes a number of recommendations intended to help the parties to bridge the existing gaps in areas such as access to basic social services 6