A/HRC/27/52 cases there is debate as to their effectiveness. At the international level, there are already various mechanisms for monitoring State compliance, including the treaty bodies, the Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review process, regional human rights oversight mechanisms and the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. Of those mechanisms, only the Special Rapporteur’s mandate focuses on monitoring how the rights of indigenous peoples in particular are respected, protected and fulfilled. C. Unfulfilled need for reconciliation and redress for historical wrongs 27. Also presenting barriers to the full and effective realization of the rights of indigenous peoples are steps that have not yet been taken towards reconciliation with indigenous peoples and redress for past violations of human rights. Indigenous peoples around the world in the past have suffered gross and systematic violations of their human rights and those violations have ongoing consequences in the present day that continue to affect their human rights situation. In most countries in which indigenous peoples live, however, meaningful reconciliation efforts have yet to place. Without such efforts, it will be difficult for indigenous peoples to overcome their situations of extreme marginalization, and to ensure sustainable relationships based on trust, mutual respect and partnership, between indigenous peoples and the States within which they live. 28. There is no one path or fast track towards reconciliation, and the history and context in each country will necessarily make responses different. However, the process generally includes a first step of acknowledging a history of wrongdoing. In some countries, reconciliation efforts have included a formal apology to indigenous peoples for past wrongdoing or particularly egregious human rights violations. For example, in 2008 the Government of Australia issued a formal apology to aboriginal peoples, “for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss” and in particular for “the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country”.2 Similarly, in 2008 in Canada, the Government apologized to aboriginal peoples for its role in the Indian Residential Schools system, recognizing that “the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation”.3 Other States that have issued formal apologies are the United States with regard to historical suffering inflicted upon Native Americans; Norway and Sweden, with respect to past treatment of the Sami peoples; and New Zealand, where formal apologies often form part of negotiated settlement agreements under the Treaty of Waitangi. 29. It is worth noting that the public nature of those apologies contributes to their efficacy. In a counter-example mentioned by the previous Special Rapporteur in his report on the situation of indigenous peoples in the United States (A/HRC/21/47/Add.1), although the Government made the important step in 2010 of issuing a formal apology to Native Americans which acknowledged widespread wrongdoing by the Government “strangely, the apology was buried deep in a defense appropriations act, and apparently few indigenous people, much less the public in general, were made aware of it” (ibid., para. 74). Public recognition is fundamental for numerous reasons, including providing recognition to indigenous victims, demonstrating a commitment on the part of the State to put an end to or remedy violations and educating the broader society about the history of mistreatment of indigenous peoples and the Government’s role in that regard. 2 3 10 The transcript and further information on the apology are available from http://australia.gov.au/aboutaustralia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples. Further information on the apology is available from www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2008/06/11/pm-offersfull-apology-behalf-canadians-indian-residential-schools-system.