A/74/149 I. Introduction 1. The present report is the last to be submitted to the General Assembly by the current holder of the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz. In the first part of the report, the Special Rapporteur briefly describes her activities since her previous report (A/73/176) and her work on the rights of indigenous women and children. In the second part, she discusses some aspects of the right of indigenous peoples to autonomy or self-government as an exercise of their right to self-determination, with a focus on identifying positive elements in existing arrangements, as well as limitations and challenges, and provides recommendations on ways to move forward in the adequat e implementation of that right. II. Activities of the mandate holder in 2018 and 2019 2. In 2018 and 2019, since she last reported to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur continued to work on her main mandated tasks, namely, to develop thematic studies, conduct country assessments, respond to specific cases of alleged human rights violations and promote good practices. 3. From 19 to 29 November 2018, she conducted an official visit to Ecuador to assess the commitments made in the 2008 Constitution, which enshrined Ecuador as a plurinational country, to protecting the rights of indigenous peoples. The Special Rapporteur concluded that the Constitution provided a good basis upon which to build a more inclusive and intercultural country. While welcoming the steps taken by the Government through dialogue with indigenous peoples on intercultural bilingual education, she underlined that much more had to be done in terms of recognizing the fundamental human rights of the indigenous nationalities, peopl es and communities of the country, in particular with regard to their rights to self -determination, lands, territories and resources. She also stressed her concern regarding the impacts of the prioritization of extractive activities on the rights of indige nous peoples, including indigenous peoples in isolation and recent contact, and regarding the lack of adequate progress in the harmonization of the ordinary and the indigenous justice systems. 1 4. From 8 to 16 April 2019, the Special Rapporteur visited Timor-Leste, where she assessed a number of issues affecting indigenous peoples, including customary justice systems, community lands, education and measures related to conservation and climate change adaptation and mitigation. While appreciating t he attention provided by the Government to customary justice systems and indigenous languages and education, she expressed her concern about the impacts of State -sponsored extractive activities, forced displacement, the lack of an adequate regulatory frame work regarding indigenous traditional lands and the high rate of chronic malnutrition in the country. 2 5. In September 2019, the Special Rapporteur will submit a thematic report on the issue of indigenous justice systems to the Human Rights Council. 3 6. Between 30 June 2018 and 1 July 2019, the Special Rapporteur issued 117 communications to more than 30 countries and to other entities, such as private __________________ 1 2 3 4/23 A/HRC/42/37/Add.1. End of mission statement available at www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx? NewsID=24492&LangID=E. A/HRC/42/37. See also A/HRC/42/37/Add.2. 19-11889