E/CN.4/2006/78 page 2 Summary Since the submission of his previous report to the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people has undertaken official country missions to South Africa (28 July to 8 August 2005) and New Zealand (2-11 November 2005), to observe the situation of the indigenous peoples. The mission reports are contained in documents E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.2 and 3 respectively. The present report focuses on the gap in implementation between, on the one hand, the advances made by many countries in their domestic legislation, which recognizes indigenous peoples and their rights, and, on the other, the daily reality in which many obstacles to the effective enforcement of those legislative measures are encountered. The report describes some of the main obstacles and the measures taken to overcome them, illustrating the problem with examples from various regions. The report also provides information on communications and replies from Governments relating to allegations of human rights violations that were received and transmitted between 1 January and 31 December 2005, as well as information on follow-up to the missions undertaken by the Special Rapporteur. At the Commission’s request, the Special Rapporteur is also transmitting a progress report on the activities under way on best practices carried out to implement the recommendations contained in his reports (E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.4). Also attached are the conclusions and recommendations of the International Seminars on Constitutional Reforms, Legislation and Implementation of Laws regarding the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, held in Geneva at the headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 25 and 26 July 2005 and in Tucson, Arizona, at the College of Law of the University of Arizona from 12 to 14 October 2005 (E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.5) in support of the Special Rapporteur’s work in this area.