A/HRC/12/34 page 12 communication and receiving a response from the Government concerned, but rather aims to engage actively with States, indigenous peoples and other actors to closely monitor and evaluate situations, identify underlying causes of immediate problems, promote specific action that builds on advances already made, and develop recommendations that are practical, well founded in available knowledge, and in accordance with relevant human rights standards. II. A CORE ISSUE: THE DUTY TO CONSULT 36. The Special Rapporteur has sought to identify common patterns of problems facing indigenous peoples throughout the world and to develop measures to target those issues directly. He has noticed, frequently and in a wide variety of situations, a lack of adequate implementation of the duty of States to consult with indigenous peoples in decisions affecting them, and a need on the part of Governments and other stakeholders for orientation about the measures necessary for compliance with this duty. The Special Rapporteur has observed that, without the buy-in of indigenous peoples, through consultation, at the earliest stages of the development of Government initiatives, the effectiveness of Government programmes, even those that are intended to specifically benefit indigenous peoples, can be crippled at the outset. Invariably, it appears that a lack of adequate consultation leads to conflictive situations, with indigenous expressions of anger and mistrust, which, in some cases, have spiralled into violence. 37. There is not one specific formula for carrying out consultations with indigenous peoples that applies to all countries and in all circumstances. In this respect, article 34 of ILO Convention No. 169 affirms: “The nature and scope of the measures to be taken to give effect to this Convention shall be determined in a flexible manner, having regard to the conditions characteristic of each country.” While the implications of the duty to consult are many and varied, during the past year, the Special Rapporteur has touched upon issues related to consultation mainly in two areas: in the context of constitutional and legislative reforms touching upon indigenous subject matters; and in the context of development and natural resource extraction initiatives and, in some cases, related relocation efforts affecting indigenous peoples. The Special Rapporteur will devote the rest of the report to reflecting on certain aspects of the duty to consult and its implementation that are relevant to issues he has confronted, in the hope of providing useful points of clarification and orientation. A. The normative grounding and general character of the duty to consult 38. It should be emphasized that the duty of States to consult with indigenous peoples on decisions affecting them finds prominent expression in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and is firmly rooted in international human rights law. This duty is referenced throughout the Declaration in relation to particular concerns (arts. 10, 11, 15, 17, 19, 28, 29, 30, 32, 36, and 38), and it is affirmed as an overarching principle in article 19, which provides: “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.” 39. Like the Declaration, ILO Convention No. 169 requires States to consult with indigenous peoples in good faith, with the objective of achieving their agreement or consent on the aspects of management schemes or projects that affect them, and calls upon States to