A/64/338 standards. Even if not empowered to directly apply the Declaration, domestic courts may and should use the Declaration as an interpretive guide in applying provisions of domestic law. 57. But legal recognition and judicial action are only potential preconditions for operationalizing indigenous peoples’ rights under the Declaration, at the local level. The former Special Rapporteur noted that recent processes of constitutional and legal reform in various countries have not necessarily led to actual changes in the daily lives of indigenous peoples and that an “implementation gap” continues to exist between “legislation and the day-to-day reality”.19 Bridging this gap requires the concerted, goal-oriented action of a myriad of governmental actors within the scope of their respective fields of competence and involves a mixture of political will, legal reform, technical capacity and financial commitment. 3. Indigenous peoples 58. The objective stated in the eighteenth preambular paragraph of the Declaration of enhancing “harmonious and cooperative relations between the State and indigenous peoples” involves indigenous communities, authorities and organizations as fundamental actors in realizing the rights affirmed in this instrument. The Declaration’s affirmation of the right to self-determination and extension of that right into the different spheres of indigenous life requires positive engagement, in a spirit of partnership, by both States and indigenous peoples, without which the Declaration would never be effective. 59. Therefore, wide affirmation of the rights of indigenous peoples in the Declaration does not only create positive obligations for States, but also bestows important responsibilities upon the rights-holders themselves. This interaction between the affirmation of rights and the assumption of responsibilities is particularly crucial in areas in which the Declaration affirms for indigenous peoples a large degree of autonomy in managing their internal and local affairs. Positive action by indigenous peoples’ organizations is required, by definition, for the exercise of their rights to maintain and develop institutions and mechanisms of selfgovernance. The Declaration simultaneously acknowledges the economic implications of indigenous self-government or autonomy, affirming indigenous peoples’ rights to State financial and technical assistance and international cooperation in order to exercise their rights and fulfil their responsibilities in this regard (articles 4 and 39). 60. Notably, indigenous peoples are called upon to exercise responsibilities for the preservation, exercise and development of their cultural heritage and expressions.20 The Declaration further acknowledges indigenous peoples’ intergenerational responsibilities, including environmental stewardship, with regard to their traditional lands, territories and resources (articles 25 and 29). 61. The implementation of the Declaration by indigenous peoples may also require them to develop or revise their own institutions, traditions or customs through their own decision-making procedures. The Declaration recalls that the functioning of __________________ 19 20 18 E/CN.4/2006/78, para. 5. Article 12, para. 1 (right to indigenous spiritual and religious traditions); article 13, para. 1 (right to their languages, literature and philosophies); article 31, para. 1 (right to their traditional knowledge and technologies). 09-50281