A/HRC/4/32 page 4 Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 2001/57, extended for a further period of three years in 2004 (resolution 2004/62) and renewed by the Human Rights Council in 2006 (decision 1/102). In 2006, the Special Rapporteur submitted his fifth annual report to the Council (E/CN.4/2006/78) and his third report to the General Assembly (A/60/358). During the course of that year he undertook official missions to Ecuador from 28 July to 8 August and to Kenya from 4 to 14 December. The reports on those missions may be found respectively at annexes 2 and 3 to this document. 2. The Special Rapporteur is now pleased to submit his sixth and final annual report to the Council; it reviews and evaluates the most pressing outstanding problems that affect the human rights of indigenous people, and seeks to share with the Council some thoughts on the subject by way of possible pointers to its future activities in that regard. 3. In the context of the various transformation processes taking place, the indigenous people have achieved a measure of progress in some countries in which good practices were applied. Nevertheless, obstacles to the full recognition and enjoyment of their human rights persist, and the challenges they face are great. A study of “best practices” and implementation of the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations may be found at annex 4 to this document. I. TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 4. The problems and challenges facing indigenous people stem from deep-rooted historical processes and structural causes and cannot be resolved simply by the adoption of a law or the creation of public institutions. They require a multidimensional approach, political will, and active participation on the part of the indigenous people themselves, based on respect for differences and intercultural sensitivity. That outlook calls for the involvement of a wide range of actors, starting with indigenous peoples themselves, governments, all sectors of national society, and international organizations. 5. Recent years have seen the development of new structures for dialogue and negotiation between governments, international organizations and indigenous peoples. This has served to increase the public visibility of these peoples, which has in turn made for progress in the mechanisms for protecting their rights. However, a persistent, and even widening, implementation gap remains between the good intentions frequently expressed in constitutional reforms and various forms of legislation and the effective enjoyment of human rights at the practical, everyday level. Just as there has been some progress, so one can point to obstacles apparent in various trends to which the Special Rapporteur refers below. A. The new legal standard and the implementation gap 6. Constitutional, legislative and institutional reform with regard to the rights of indigenous peoples has continued to make ground in countries such as Burundi, Cambodia, Morocco, Norway, Nicaragua and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Recognition of their rights is under consideration in other countries, as in the case of the constitutional reform processes in Kenya and Nepal.