A/HRC/12/34/Add.3 page 15 51. All stakeholders agree that the State’s current legal and institutional framework is inadequate to advance the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with Convention 169, and that special programmes already in place for the benefit of indigenous peoples are insufficient and poorly funded. During his visit the Special Rapporteur noted that more training and capacity-building are urgently needed among Government officials and other stakeholders, including indigenous peoples themselves, on the implications, limitations and philosophy of Convention 169, in the light of the United Nations Declaration. It must be stressed that Convention 169, consonant with the Declaration, requires a commitment towards a multicultural order in which indigenous groups are allowed to live as distinct peoples in perpetuity, with collective rights that are in accordance with the cultural characteristics that define them, and within the framework of the common respect for all universal human rights. B. The constitution-making process and indigenous participation 52. The measures required to safeguard the rights of the Adivasi Janajati entail reforms in the legal and administrative apparatus of the State that are far-reaching, and that are best achieved with constitutional grounding. The new constitution of Nepal should therefore incorporate the rights of indigenous peoples and related protections in a manner consistent with the basic principles articulated in Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration. Relevant provisions of the Convention and Declaration should also be duly taken into account in the constitution-making process itself, in particular provisions relating to rights of consultation and participation. 53. Government actors and indigenous representatives alike agree that the Adivasi Janajati have an important stake in the development of Nepal’s new constitution. But as the constitution-making process has unfolded, indigenous peoples’ representation and participation in the Constituent Assembly, which is charged with drafting the new constitution, has become a subject of significant controversy. To its credit, the Interim Constitution provided for a mixed proportional system of representation in the Assembly. Through this mixed electoral system, 335 of the 601 members of the Assembly are chosen in a system of proportional representation, which applies to women, Dalits, indigenous communities, Madhesis and other unrepresented groups, from a list of candidates drawn up by political parties. The system allowed for 219 seats in the Assembly to go to members of indigenous communities, which demonstrates significant progress in Nepal towards improving political representation by indigenous peoples and other historically marginalized groups. 54. However, many indigenous leaders, including several members of the Constituent Assembly, uniformly complained of the inadequacy of indigenous representation and participation in the Assembly. Of particular concern to indigenous leaders is the fact that the indigenous Assembly members were elected from among candidates chosen by political parties, which are dominated by non-indigenous actors, and as a result they are subject to the political parties’ overall interests and voting discipline. It is therefore often difficult for indigenous Assembly representatives to join across party lines to effectively raise and promote issues concerning indigenous peoples.