A/HRC/12/34 page 14 Brazil,14 Chile,15 Panama,16 and Peru.17 Similarly, the Human Rights Committee has made reference to the duty to consult in a number of its reports to Governments on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, most recently in its concluding observations on Chile,18 Costa Rica,19 Panama,20 Botswana,21 and Nicaragua.22 Additionally, the duty to consult arises from the obligations assumed by States under the American Convention on Human Rights, as affirmed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.23 41. This duty is a corollary of a myriad of universally accepted human rights, including the right to cultural integrity, the right to equality and the right to property, as indicated in the referenced statements and decisions, respectively, of the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. More fundamentally, it derives from the overarching right of indigenous peoples to self-determination and from related principles of democracy and popular sovereignty. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms in its article 3 that: “Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” This affirmation responds to the aspirations of indigenous peoples worldwide to be in control of their own destinies under conditions of equality, and to participate effectively in decision-making that affects them. The right of self-determination is a foundational right, without which indigenous peoples’ human rights, both collective and individual, cannot be fully enjoyed. Related principles of popular sovereignty and democracy join in opposition to government by imposition and uphold the imperative of government by consent. Consistent with these principles, the duty of States to consult with indigenous peoples in decisions affecting them 14 Letter dated 7 March 2008, available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/ docs/early_warning/Brazil070308.pdf. 15 Letter dated 24 August 2007, available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/ cerd/docs/chile_letter.pdf. 16 Letter dated 15 August 2008, available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ Panama_letter150808.pdf. 17 Letter dated 7 March 2008, available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ early_warning/Peru070308.pdf. 18 CCPR/C/CHL/CO/5, para. 19. 19 CCPR/C/CRI/CO/5, para. 5. 20 CCPR/C/PAN/CO/3, para. 21. 21 CCPR/C/BWA/CO/1, para. 24. 22 CCPR/C/NIC/CO/3, para. 21. 23 Saramaka v. Suriname, judgement of 28 November 2007, paras. 133-134.