A/HRC/48/75 Constitutional Convention to be held in 2021, with calls for constitutional transformation, 122 the establishment of the Office for Māori Crown Relations in 2018, reform of the legislation and institutions governing Māori land, the establishment of independent advisory groups in a range of areas of importance to Māori, the indigenous restorative justice processes for young people, including Rangatahi courts, and the reorientation of the first instance court system, Te Koti-a-Rohe/District Court, to more appropriately reflect contemporary society’s expectations of it.123 52. Other States refer to the titling of indigenous land as a move towards selfdetermination. 124 Nicaragua has finalized the titling of almost 96 per cent of indigenous territories in an effort to restore the rights of indigenous communities and communities of African descent.125 In Ecuador, the unified project on access to land for family producers and mass legalization has responded to requests received from 51 communes, communities and centres belonging to the Kichwa, Shuar, Sapara, Shiwiar, Montubio, Manta Huancavilca and peoples of African descent and nationalities and has allocated 485,721.75 hectares in 11 provinces of the country between 2011 and 2021. Ecuador refers to numerous other laws adopted to support self-determination in the areas of health, autonomy, culture and education.126 53. The negotiations between Finland, Norway and Sweden concerning a Nordic Sami Convention were completed in 2017, and a dialogue between the States and the Sami Parliaments is ongoing. They expect to sign the Convention in 2021. The overall objective of developing a Nordic Sami Convention is to secure the protection of human rights of the Sami so that they can preserve and develop their languages, culture, livelihoods and social life across national borders.127 X. Indigenous self-determination and the rights to culture, language, ceremony, spirituality and sports and traditional games 54. The Expert Mechanism has previously described indigenous peoples’ cultures as including tangible and intangible manifestations of their ways of life, achievements and creativity. They are expressions of their self-determination and of their spiritual and physical relationships with their lands, territories and resources. Indigenous culture is a holistic concept based on common material and spiritual values and includes distinctive manifestations in language, spirituality, membership, arts, literature, traditional knowledge, customs, rituals, ceremonies, methods of production, festive events, music, sports and traditional games, behaviour, habits, tools, shelter, clothing, economic activities, morals, value systems, world views, laws and activities, such as hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering.128 The preservation of linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as the preservation of traditional, indigenous knowledge and biological biodiversity, can only be achieved by guaranteeing the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples.129 55. There is some evidence of indigenous communities mobilizing to revitalize cultural practices. In Australia, “birthing on country” initiatives seek to promote maternal and newborn health and well-being through cultural practices that were strengthened over thousands of generations and have only relatively recently been disrupted by non-indigenous intervention.130 In Ecuador, to conserve indigenous peoples agrobiodiversity, 22 seed houses have been set up to produce and conserve genetic material linked to the customs and 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 16 Submissions from New Zealand and the Independent Monitoring Mechanism of New Zealand. Submission from New Zealand. See A/HRC/45/38. Submission from the national human rights institution of Nicaragua. Submission from Ecuador. Submission from Sweden. See A/HRC/21/53. See E/C.19/2008/13. Submission from Jumbunna; see also https://anmj.org.au/birthing-on-country-improving-indigenoushealth.