E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.2 page 14 35. Government action to combat racism is seen by some sectors of the Ladino population as special treatment for indigenous peoples. The involvement of indigenous peoples in the decision-making process is generally limited to inviting their representatives to consultations without taking into account their views in the final decision or including them in political and economic decision-making bodies. 36. At the institutional level, of the 153 members of Congress, only 14 are of indigenous origin. Political parties balk at presenting candidates from indigenous communities. In the army, indigenous people make up the majority of the rank and file but a far smaller proportion of officers (72.6 per cent of whom are Ladinos, as compared with 27 per cent who are indigenous).14 In the Government, individuals of indigenous origin generally occupy posts below the rank of deputy minister and presidential secretary, and are rarely appointed as ministers. 37. It was recognized that the peace agreements have not yet produced the structural changes expected and that the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the least used instrument, since the laws and reforms proposed generally remain unimplemented for lack of resources and political will. Despite the judicial reforms under way, many of the people who talked to the Special Rapporteur think that the justice system is deficient and that indigenous customary law is not sufficiently integrated in the judicial process. Thus, a judicial monism prevails and traditional indigenous authorities are not considered capable of administering justice according to the practices and customs of their communities, contrary to the relevant provisions of ILO Convention No. 169. 38. Several of the people the Special Rapporteur talked to stressed the persistence of the traditionally inegalitarian structure of Guatemalan society, the legacy of a long history of discrimination, social exclusion and marginalization. Those who suffer most as a result of this structure are people of indigenous and African origin at every level. According to UNDP data, these people are becoming increasingly impoverished. In 2002, poverty in general affected 57 per cent of the population, or 6.5 million people, and extreme poverty 21 per cent of the population, or 2.4 million people. The situation is particularly serious in rural areas, where the majority of indigenous people live; 72 per cent of these people are affected.15 39. The departments populated for the most part by indigenous communities have the highest poverty levels.16 Health and education indicators reveal the same disparities. The departments with the highest levels of illiteracy are for the most part inhabited by indigenous people. The illiteracy rates range from 41 per cent to 53 per cent: 53 per cent in Quiché; 51.3 per cent in Alta Verapaz; 47.9 per cent in Sololá; 43.3 per cent in Totonicapán; 41.9 per cent in Baja Verapaz; and 41.6 per cent in Huehuetenango - while the national average is 31.7 per cent.17 Poverty, lack of access to drinking water, environmental degradation, cultural marginalization and the lack of sanitation facilities are factors that have a negative impact on the health of indigenous people. Cultural barriers are especially noticeable in the failure of officialdom and administrators to use indigenous languages in health centres and the failure to incorporate traditional medicine in health programmes. Pilot projects designed to integrate 4,560 midwives are only just beginning to get under way, even though over 50 per cent of the population has recourse to the services of traditional doctors or healers. The Special Rapporteur