E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1 page 13 Indonesian, Mandarin, Japanese and Thai to facilitate access to it by people speaking these languages. It is also involved in the implementation of diversity programmes aimed at preventing Aboriginal people from entering the penal system. C. Organizations and policies in support of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders 22. In addition to the legislation and institutions set up to combat racism and racial discrimination in general, the Australian Government has established organizations to protect and improve the situation of certain groups whom it considers to be in a less favourable situation than the majority of other Australians owing to the effects of past, and even current, discriminatory practices. There are therefore organizations and institutions which devote particular attention to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 1. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission 23. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) is the principal Commonwealth agency responsible for administering the affairs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is an advisory body responsible to the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, which administers a broad range of Commonwealth programmes for Indigenous Australians. It was established by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989. Through its decentralized structure and operation, comprising representation of the Indigenous peoples, the formulation of policies and administration of projects, ATSIC endeavours to ensure convergence between the needs of the Indigenous peoples and the budgetary policies of the federal Government. The elected representatives of the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders are thus able to take decisions concerning programmes and policies affecting their communities, at the regional and national levels. These programmes and policies generally relate to the improvement of education and training standards, health, housing, land title, business creation by these peoples and participation in enterprises from which they derive an income. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples regard ATSIC as an instrument for their “self-determination”. 24. There are two Indigenous groups in Australia, the Aboriginal peoples and the Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal peoples are the original owners and occupiers of the Australian mainland and Tasmania, while the Torres Strait Islander peoples are the original owners of the many islands in the Torres Strait to within five kilometres of the Papua New Guinea coastline. Torres Strait Islanders began moving in significant numbers from the Torres Strait to the mainland just after the Second World War, largely to improve their socio-economic status. They first worked as sugar-cane cutters in Queensland, then as maintenance workers for the Queensland railways, and later as workers for the construction of mine railways in Queensland and Western Australia. Today, Torres Strait Islanders are found in most urban centres and capital cities on the mainland. The only major exception to this are those who live in Aboriginal communities on Cape York and in the north of Western Australia. Despite this, and the fact that many Torres Strait Islanders are born and raised on the mainland, they identify strongly with Torres Strait Islander culture, which is derived from their homeland and their own Ailan Kastom (traditional custom). It is estimated that there are 32,792 mainland Torres Strait Islanders, almost 40 per cent of whom live in Queensland.