E/CN.4/2003/90 page 4 Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 2001/57. 2. On 15 April 2002, the Special Rapporteur, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, presented his first annual report to the Commission (E/CN.4/2002/97 and Add.1), in which he indicated some of his future activities. He is now pleased to present this second annual report to the Commission in accordance with resolution 2002/65. 3. During the time since the termination of his first report, the Special Rapporteur has continued gathering information on the situation of the human rights of indigenous peoples, following developments in the United Nations system, participating in international and national-level conferences and research seminars, evaluations, training workshops and the like that deal directly with the issues of his mandate, and has undertaken research on some of the major issues affecting indigenous peoples which he laid out in his first report (E/CN.4/2002/97, para. 113). He has also carried out two official country missions, to Guatemala (2-12 September 2002) and the Philippines (2-11 December 2002). The country mission reports are contained in documents E/CN.4/2003/90/Add.2 and Add.3, respectively. Moreover, in connection with other activities, he has visited some additional countries to observe the situation of indigenous peoples, including Botswana (January 2002), Mexico (April 2002) and Japan (November 2002). 4. The Special Rapporteur attended the first session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (New York, May 2002) and the twentieth session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (Geneva, July 2002). He has also taken part in events and lectured at academic institutions on different aspects of his mandate. More importantly, he developed contacts with numerous indigenous and human rights organizations around the world, which have provided him with invaluable information and documentation. He is especially grateful to the Governments, indigenous peoples’ organizations, United Nations agencies, research institutions and concerned individuals who responded to his appeal for information and to the questionnaires on specific subjects which were sent out after last year’s Commission session. 5. This report will concentrate thematically on a major issue that is of particular concern to indigenous peoples, namely, the impact of large-scale or major development projects on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous communities. It must be recalled that numerous statements presented over the years by indigenous representatives to the sessions of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations refer to the human rights implications of such projects. Much academic research, numerous field studies and assessments by national and international institutions are available, and there is a growing specialized literature on the topic. At the first session of the Permanent Forum, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), together with the World Bank, organized a panel discussion on this subject. Other multilateral agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme and the regional development banks have accumulated relevant information. In some countries, long-term impact studies have been produced which provide useful knowledge about changes over time.