A/75/185 take place on lands and territories traditionally occupied or used by indigenous peoples; (g) Good practices and lessons learned in indigenous conservation management. 4. The Special Rapporteur also plans a regional consultation with and a report on indigenous peoples in Africa. IV. Indigenous peoples in the coronavirus pandemic 5. In the first half of 2020, the global coronavirus pandemic has caused illness to at least 11 million people (and likely many more), killed at least half a million people and exacerbated economic and social inequalities around the world. Virtually no population has gone untouched by some form of restriction or hardship as a result of measures to contain the pandemic. Although representing only 6 per cent of the world population, indigenous peoples are among the most harshly affected. Indigenous societies, already facing numerous existential threats, face higher risks of dying of the disease, of experiencing discrimination and a disproportionate impact as a result of confinement measures, and of being left without support to defend their peoples from intensifying rights violations even as the pandemic rages. 6. The Special Rapporteur assumed his mandate on 1 May 2020, amid reports from all regions of a sharp deterioration in respect for the rights of indigenous peoples. COVID-19 has created an unprecedented wave of fear, sadness and hardship around the globe, yet indigenous peoples feel particularly forgotten and left behind. 7. The present report was compiled on the basis of publications from indigenous organizations and civil society organizations, participa tion in pertinent webinars and expert discussions and over 150 submissions from States and indigenous and human rights organizations in response to a joint questionnaire by several special procedures mechanisms and a call from the mandate. The Special Rapporteur thanks all Governments and organizations for their responses, not all of which can be cited here but all of which will assist the Special Rapporteur throughout the discharge of his mandate. A. Legal framework and international guidance Legal framework 8. The right of indigenous peoples to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health without discrimination is specifically recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 12) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which specifically provides for the right of indigenous peoples to be actively involved in developing, determining and administering health programmes through their own institutions (art. 23) and the right to their traditional medicines and health practices (art. 24). 9. Article 12 (2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights specifies that the right to health includes steps necessary for the “prevention , treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases”. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has further emphasized the 20-09737 5/27