E/CN.4/2005/88/Add.2 page 6 7. This report contains the Special Rapporteur’s assessment of the human rights situation of indigenous people in Colombia and is based on information obtained from various sources and an exchange of views with State, judicial, military, departmental and municipal authorities, leaders and representatives of indigenous communities and representatives of human rights and non-governmental organizations. I. SCHEDULE FOR THE VISIT 8. The Special Rapporteur visited Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the department of César, the departments of Cauca and Putumayo, and the capital, Bogotá, where he held consultations with government authorities at the national and departmental levels. In Bogotá, the Special Rapporteur met senior government officials, including the President, Mr. Álvaro Uribe; the Vice-President, Mr. Francisco Santos; the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Mr. Sabas Petrelt; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Carolina Barco; the Director of the Presidential Programme for Human Rights, Mr. Carlos Franco; the Director of the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Rafael Bustamante; the Director of the Office of Ethnic Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Jesús Ramírez; and the Director of the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Defence, Colonel Castillo. The Special Rapporteur also met representatives of the Social Solidarity Network, the Family Welfare Institute, the Colombian Rural Development Institute (INCODER), the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. 9. In the course of his tour of the various regions, the Special Rapporteur met departmental and local officials, members of civil-society and grass-roots associations, and representatives of more than 30 indigenous communities, including the Inga, the Wayuu, the Quichua, the Pasto, the Paez, the Embera, the Yanakona, the Kankuamo, the Arhuaco, the Yuko and the Wiwa. 10. The Special Rapporteur had meetings with legislators, Constitutional Court judges, representatives of the Office of the Procurator-General, and the Ombudsman, Mr. Volmar Pérez Ortiz. He also had discussions with representatives of United Nations agencies, human rights NGOs and academic institutions. II. LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 11. The institutional framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of Colombia’s indigenous peoples is based primarily on the 1991 Constitution, which recognizes the multicultural and multi-ethnic make-up of the country. 12. The principal gain for indigenous people in this Constitution was the recognition of their traditional reserves and respect for their cultures, languages and traditions, which were long-standing claims. In order to implement these provisions, land was granted to indigenous communities under Act No. 160 of 1994, through the establishment, extension, rehabilitation and restructuring of reserves. The number of recognized indigenous reserves now stands at 647; these cover a total of 31,066,430 hectares, hold 85,818 families or 441,550 people, and comprise some 30 per cent of the national territory.