E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1 page 52 A. Activities undertaken by Aboriginal organizations 116. These are community organizations generally based on different clans or emerging from a group of persons of Aboriginal origin. Their chief function is to ensure the economic and social development of these clans and groups and to protect their interests. 117. In the State of Queensland, the Special Rapporteur visited the Yarrabah community: situated about 37 km from Cairns, it is composed of 3,400 people. Originally, it was a community set up by an Anglican missionary to save the Aboriginals from extermination. In 1986, it established a council with responsibility for development and management and with a membership of seven; only the chairman is remunerated by the State of Queensland. The community receives from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) an annual grant of $A 18 million, which is used primarily for the construction of infrastructure, including a 10-bed clinic and housing, and the remuneration of service-providers. The council has also developed a project for the training of five Aboriginal police officers, who liaise with the State of Queensland police; it is also supporting the training of a young Aboriginal manager, who will be involved in project execution. 118. In Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, the Special Rapporteur visited the Tangentyere council, a body responsible for promoting the interests of the Arrente people, who own the region around Alice Springs. The council has been in existence since 1979 and is endeavouring to provide modern housing for some 1,200 people. It also engages in social activities, notably night patrols to prevent anti-social behaviour by certain Aboriginals. This is one of the projects under the Community Development Programme (CDEP), which provides a partial solution to the problem of Aboriginal unemployment. The council has succeeded in banning the sale of alcohol in the areas inhabited by Aboriginals. It collaborates with the municipality of Alice Springs, notably for the purpose of finding jobs for Aboriginals, most of whom work on road maintenance. Another community organization which provides support for Arrentes living in the Alice Springs region is the Arrente council: it assists families in obtaining grants from the government of the Northern Territory; it provides transport between the town and the rural areas where the communities live. It has set up a public works department which carries out contracts for scrub-clearance along roads, maintenance of footpaths, maintenance of urban pavements and parks, and the cutting and sale of wood for heating purposes. These activities also come under the CDEP. 119. Also in Alice Springs, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress has for 25 years been engaged in the improvement of Aboriginal health: in its clinic, 10 doctors, a nurse and 9 auxiliary staff provide general and specialized medical care (dentistry, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat care for children). The Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Service provides assistance for Aboriginals taking legal action; it was set up to deal with the problem of the large numbers of Aboriginals in Australian prisons and to enable them to be better represented in a judicial system which is different from their own traditional system and uses English, which most of the accused do not understand. This service intervenes in civil and criminal cases, providing interpretation services and lawyers.