A/69/267 5. In most cases, the original development paths of the indigenous peoples were disregarded and disrupted, and “development” was conceived as a one-dimensional process, measured in terms of economic growth and increase in gross national product (GNP). This development model failed to take into account the diversity of human livelihoods, cultures and concepts of well-being. The Special Rapporteur also notes that this led to a situation of double discrimination against indigenous peoples: not only were they deprived of the economic and social benefits of contemporary development, which was often carried out at their expense, at the same time their cultures, languages and production systems were stigmatized as backward, primitive and uncivilized. 6. These misperceptions were still dominant in the late 1950s, when the International Labour Organization (ILO), on behalf of the United Nations -system, adopted Convention No. 107 on indigenous and tribal populations. This Convention was the first attempt to codify the international obligations of States in respect of indigenous peoples, and it is a clear reflection of the development discourse at the time it was adopted. While the Convention recognized indigenous peoples as human being with basic rights that should be protected, they were also understood as being in a “deficit position”, that is, they were considered as being at a less advanced stage than other sectors of society. The Convention thus called on States to gradually assist indigenous peoples to fully integrate into the national community. In other words, through development, they would cease to exist as distinct peoples, the goal being equality of rights and opportunities, but without the diversity of identities, culture and development paths. 7. During the 1970s and 1980s, this perception was forcefully challenged by indigenous peoples, who manifested their determination to maintain and pass on to future generations their unique cultures and distinct social, governance, production and knowledge systems. This determination led, in 1989, to the adoption of ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, which explicitly aims, in its preamble, at “removing the assimilationist orientation of the earlier standards”. 8. The claim of indigenous peoples to self-determined development was further reinforced in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which acknowledges indigenous peoples’ “vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices” (principle 22). The Rio Declaration further calls on States to recognize and duly support indigenous peoples’ identity, culture and interests and to enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development. 9. Finally, through the 2007 adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the global community at large acknowledged indigenous peoples’ right to development in accordance with their own aspirati ons and needs. In its preamble, the Declaration recognizes that “indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a result of, inter alia, their colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories and resources, thus preventing them from exercising, in particular, their right to development in accordance wit h their own needs and interests”. It thus guarantees, in a series of provision, the right of indigenous peoples to development in accordance with their own aspirations and needs, and connected with other social, economic, and cultural rights, as noted in more detail in part III, below. 4/23 14-58847