A/74/149 decision-making that may affect them, in accordance with their own cultural patterns and structures of authority. 13 16. The right of indigenous peoples to self-determination can be realized through autonomy or self-government, as reflected in article 4 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The recognition and implementation of the right entail obligations for States, including the adequate incorporation of the right into national law, as well as the assumption of responsibilities by indigenous peoples themselves. 14 17. The recognition of the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination has had a positive and transformative impact in international law. Moreover, re cognizing that right can be transformative when implemented at the national level. The Special Rapporteur stresses that the adequate implementation of the right implies changes in the general governance of States, which will have a constructive impact on h uman rights compliance, the remedying of discrimination and inequality, the building of more democratic and inclusive societies and the enhancement of the legitimacy of the State itself. 15 B. Need for an intercultural understanding to implement the right to autonomy or self-government 18. Notwithstanding the progress in the affirmation of the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination and autonomy or self-government in the legal and academic discourse, the Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that insufficient attention has been devoted to the interpretation by indigenous peoples themselves of those rights and to their own initiatives to realize them. In her view, indigenous peoples’ interpretation should be the starting point for the d evelopment and adoption of the legal, policy and administrative measures required for implementation. 19. The right to autonomy or self-government, just as the rights to lands and resources, is not only a legal concept for indigenous peoples but also a mat ter linked to the main aspects of their existence as differentiated societies. 16 The right to self-determination is understood as a right to control their past, present and future: control of the past, in the sense of developing their own narrative of their histories; control of the present, implying the power to maintain the elements that characterize them as distinct societies; and control of the future, referring to the security of knowing that they will be able to survive as diverse peoples on their own terms. 20. In most cases, options for the enjoyment of those rights have been unilaterally defined by States. The proposals of indigenous peoples have had to be adapted to existing legal, policy and administrative frameworks. The imposition of State frameworks in the implementation of arrangements for autonomy or self -government __________________ 13 14 15 16 19-11889 S. James Anaya, Indigenous Peoples in International Law, 2nd ed. (New York, Oxford University Press, 2004); S. James Anaya, “The right of indigenous peoples to self-determination in the post-Declaration era”, in Making the Declaration Work: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Claire Charters and Rodolfo Stavenhagen, eds. (Copenhagen, IWGIA, 2009); and A/HRC/9/9. For further references, see A/73/176 and A/HRC/15/35. Catherine J. Iorns Magallanes, “International Law Association interim report on a commentary on the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, Victoria University of Wellington Legal Research Paper, No. 50/2012 (2012). Anaya, “The right of indigenous peoples to self-determination”; Mattias Åhrén, Indigenous Peoples’ Status in the International Legal System (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016); Sheryl Lightfoot, Global Indigenous Politics: A Subtle Revolution (Abingdon, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Routledge, 2016); Magallanes, “International Law Association interim report”. E/C.19/2018/7, para. 28. 7/23