A/HRC/33/42/Add.1 29. The Special Rapporteur was informed that some judicial decisions continue to refer to indigenous peoples in a pejorative and discriminatory manner. She was also told that some judges and public defenders seem unable to relate to the reality of indigenous peoples, which places an extra burden on indigenous peoples when they attempt to assert their rights. 30. Indigenous leaders also expressed fear that justice would be denied if their rights to their lands that have not yet been demarcated were to be extinguished without their consent in negotiations between the Government and third parties. 31. Information received by the Special Rapporteur indicate that impunity is pervasive in relation to serious violations of indigenous peoples’ rights, including killings of their leaders. Such intimidation, attacks and killings frequently arise in contexts where indigenous peoples attempt to assert their rights over their lands and go hand in hand with the criminalization of indigenous leaders. 32. The Special Rapporteur was seriously concerned about reports of adoptions of indigenous children authorized by judges without due respect for the rights of the children as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the rights of their extended families, who, in indigenous cultures, traditionally play an important role in such contexts, and the rights of their communities. F. Development projects and the duty to consult 33. Indigenous peoples reported dire threats to their rights and existence in the context of large-scale or high-impact development projects, including megaprojects such as the construction of hydroelectric dams and infrastructure, mining and the laying of transmission lines, that are launched without meaningful consultation to seek their free, prior and informed consent in accordance with ILO Convention No. 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.6 Concerns were also raised in relation to attempts to change or enact national legislation that directly impact their rights, such as the Mining Code, without meaningful prior consultation with concerned indigenous peoples. 34. A number of megaprojects that have serious implications for indigenous peoples’ rights were brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur. These include projects for which no prior consultation took place with indigenous peoples or other minority groups, such as the Quilombola in Oriximiná in Pará, including bauxite mining and associated hydroelectric power plants, which together constitute a major industrial complex; the pollution of the Rio Doce by the collapse of the Minas Gerais dam and its impact on indigenous peoples, such as the Krenak, who are dependent on the river for their livelihoods and subsistence; and the major transmission line projects inside constitutionally protected and demarcated lands, such as the indigenous lands of the Waimiri-Atroari in Roraima. 35. The Special Rapporteur received extensive information about the construction and operation of the Belo Monte and the Tapajós River basin dams, which raised issues common to many megaprojects in Brazil. 6 For a discussion of the impact of large-scale development projects on indigenous peoples, see E/CN.4/2003/90. 9