A/HRC/4/32 page 13 warming (E/CN.4/2006/78, para. 71). Some peoples, particularly on the islands of the Pacific, are directly threatened with total or partial disappearance as a result of climate change, a matter that the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights is studying at the time of writing (see E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/28). 51. The indigenous populations have also been affected by the diminution of water reserves throughout the world. There are numerous populations whose subsistence depends on their close link with rivers and lakes and the regularity of rains, or, when it comes to herdsmen or nomads, to the aquifers in desert or semi-desert areas. The frequent droughts and famines in some indigenous regions are the result of human activity and could be avoided with appropriate policies. Meanwhile, the trend towards the privatization of water resources in many countries, especially in Latin America and Africa, threatens to deprive many indigenous communities of traditional access to this resource, precipitating “water wars” in many countries. 52. Extraction of natural resources from the subsoil has had a highly discriminatory impact on the indigenous populations. Gold-mining in San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipakapa in Guatemala, nickel extraction in the Goro and Prony deposits in New Caledonia, the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, and the gas pipeline in Camisea in the Peruvian Amazon have had devastating effects on the indigenous peoples, who have witnessed the destruction of their traditional territories as a result of highly polluting technologies and disregard of local communities’ right to the environment. The widespread practice of dumping toxic waste in indigenous territories has been the cause of many abortions and cases of cancer and other diseases among indigenous women. G. Social conflicts and indigenous rights 53. The criminalization of social protest, and the repression practised by the security forces (police, army and sometimes even paramilitary groups) are still regularly denounced by indigenous and civil society organizations. The Special Rapporteur has documented various cases in the reports on his visits to different countries and in the inventory of the communications which he has followed up. They include charges of extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary detentions, intimidation and harassment. Many of these incidents take place in connection with the indigenous communities’ and organizations’ defence of their lands, natural resources and ancestral territories. 54. In 2006, for example, there were acts of civil protest in which indigenous and non-indigenous persons participated; these were violently and arbitrarily put down by the Mexican Government in Atenco and Oaxaca, entailing numerous violations of individual rights. Despite many attempts at dialogue between the parties, the conflict and protests continue. The National Human Rights Commission received over 1,200 complaints and recorded 20 killings, 350 detentions and 370 injuries, concluding that the conflicting parties and the Federal Preventive Police used repeated and excessive force. Civil society bodies also reported kidnappings, violations of freedom of expression, threats, harassment, torture, sexual abuse, and assaults committed by the various police forces, State agents, and allegedly armed “parapolice” groups. Although some of the persons unlawfully detained and taken to remote prisons have been released, the Government has neither investigated the alleged offences nor taken any action against those responsible for these violations.