A/HRC/21/47 Linked to this is the question of the ways in which international human rights standards do or should protect indigenous women differently from non-indigenous women. B. Holistic approach to combating violence against indigenous women and girls 26. A point of departure in answering these questions can be found in the approach articulated by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo, in her report to the General Assembly in 2011 (A/66/215). Albeit referring to violence against women in general terms, she emphasized that combating violence against women required a holistic approach, i.e. one that involved treating rights as universal, interdependent and indivisible; situating violence on a continuum that spanned interpersonal and structural violence; accounting for both individual and structural discrimination, including structural and institutional inequalities; and analysing social and/or economic hierarchies among women, and between women and men. 27. In a similar vein, combating violence against women and girls in the indigenous context must be achieved holistically; it cannot be addressed in isolation from the range of rights recognized for indigenous peoples in general. In this regard, violence against indigenous women and girls, which is distressingly all too common across the globe, cannot be seen as separate from the history of discrimination and marginalization that has been suffered invariably by indigenous peoples. This history manifests itself in continued troubling structural factors, such as conditions of poverty, lack of access to land and resources or other means of subsistence, or poor access to education and health services, which are all factors that bear on indigenous peoples with particular consequences for indigenous women. The history of discrimination against indigenous peoples has also resulted in the deterioration of indigenous social structures and cultural traditions, and in the undermining or breakdown of indigenous governance and judicial systems, impairing in many cases the ability of indigenous peoples to respond effectively to problems of violence against women and girls within their communities. 28. Combating violence against indigenous women and girls therefore requires remedying the structural legacies of colonialism and discrimination that indigenous peoples have faced. This includes advancing the range of rights guaranteed for indigenous peoples, most prominently those enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Special Rapporteur observes that the standards affirmed in the Declaration share an essentially remedial character, seeking to redress the systemic obstacles and discrimination that indigenous peoples have faced in their enjoyment of basic human rights. From this perspective, it is important to note that the Declaration does not seek to bestow indigenous peoples with a set of special or new human rights, but rather provides a contextualized elaboration of general human rights principles and rights as they relate to the specific historical, cultural and social circumstances of indigenous peoples, including the situation of indigenous women and girls. C. Essential element of the holistic approach: advancing indigenous peoples’ self-determination 29. A holistic approach to combating violence against women and girls therefore should include, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, advancing indigenous peoples’ autonomy and self-governance (articles 5 and 18); strengthening indigenous peoples’ traditional justice systems (articles 34 and 35); increasing indigenous peoples’ access to justice (article 40); and improving indigenous 8