A/HRC/9/9 page 17 Bridging this gap requires the concerted, goal-oriented action of a myriad of governmental actors within the scope of their respective fields of competence, and involves a mixture of political will, technical capacity, and financial commitment. Mainstreaming and awareness-raising 56. While the operationalization of the Declaration requires State action in the form of policies, programmes, institutions and legal reforms that are specific to indigenous peoples, the principles and rights set forth in the Declaration should be mainstreamed into the different operative sectors of government, and should be taken into consideration in the wider policy-making processes and in the establishment of programmatic priorities. 57. This is particularly important in areas, emphasized in the Declaration, in which the realization of indigenous peoples’ rights is inextricably connected to general State policies, such as in the areas of education, culture, or health, and in State development strategies and plans. In this regard, the Permanent Forum and United Nations agencies such as ILO and UNDP have played a leading role in cooperating with States in mainstreaming the rights of indigenous peoples into national poverty reduction strategies aimed at meeting the Millennium Development Goals.32 58. In order to effectively mainstream the Declaration into general State policies and to promote the legal and institutional changes required to operationalize it, Governments should ensure that the different actors involved are aware of the Declaration and sufficiently understand its provisions. Accordingly, States should make efforts to raise awareness and provide technical training to government officials, members of the legislative branch and of national human rights institutions, judicial authorities and all other relevant actors, including civil society and indigenous peoples themselves. 59. The Special Rapporteur fully acknowledges the serious technical difficulties, as well as the economic, social, and political obstacles, that States encounter in undertaking the kind of systemic action and reforms required to fully and effectively respect the rights of indigenous peoples and to reverse the long-standing patterns of abuse and discrimination that they face. In the light of such difficulties, the United Nations system has considered that the situation of indigenous peoples is a matter of global concern and of urgent priority, and is deemed to play an important role in supporting State action towards the implementation of the Declaration. B. The United Nations system 60. In its twentieth preambular paragraph, the Declaration emphasizes that “the United Nations has an important and continuing role in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples”. The United Nations special role had previously been affirmed by the 32 E/2005/43-E/C.19/2005/9, paras. 17-21.