A/HRC/48/54 I. Introduction 1. The present report supplements and follows up on the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples to the General Assembly in 2020.1 The findings from that report regarding the initial impacts of the COVID-19 health crisis on indigenous peoples are still, a year on, very valid. In that report, concerns were raised in the following areas: disproportionate health impacts; an increase in discrimination and marginalization; the exacerbation of economic and social inequalities; the lack of access to COVID-19 information, personal protective equipment, testing and treatment; the impact of restrictions imposed on indigenous human rights defenders; and the continued operation of business activities encroaching on indigenous lands during the pandemic. 2. Just as the impact of and responses to COVID-19 have disproportionately and negatively affected indigenous peoples, so have State recovery efforts. An equitable and comprehensive COVID-19 recovery requires building back better than pre-pandemic times, when indigenous peoples experienced multiple forms of social and economic discrimination. In many cases, COVID-19 recovery laws have been solely geared at managing the economic crisis generated by the pandemic. Reports around the world further indicate that State measures for economic recovery have prioritized and supported the expansion of business operations at the expense of indigenous peoples, their lands and the environment. Instead, States must focus on a transformative recovery that maximizes opportunities for well-being in the post-COVID-19 era and respects human rights as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other relevant international human rights standards. 3. Indigenous peoples are leading initiatives to recover from the pandemic in ways that exercise their rights to self-determination and self-government, while reconnecting with their traditional lands and revitalizing cultural practices. State reconstruction and recovery need to support the efforts of indigenous peoples to restore traditional livelihoods and economies to sustain their communities.2 4. In the preparation of the present report, a public call for inputs was issued that led to 52 written submissions.3 The present study also draws on the observations gathered by the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of country visits and communications on alleged human rights violations, as well as virtual events and meetings held since the start of the pandemic. In terms of the international human rights legal framework that applies in relation to COVID-19 and indigenous peoples, see the report of the Special Rapporteur on the impact of COVID-19 to the General Assembly mentioned above. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 5. Since the previous report to the Human Rights Council, the proposed country visit to Denmark and Greenland, initiated in 2020, was postponed due to public health concerns and no official country visit has been undertaken. The Special Rapporteur has participated in numerous webinars and virtual events on the impact of COVID-19 impact and how to strengthen the inclusion of indigenous peoples in recovery and maintain collaboration with other specialized entities and regional human rights bodies of the United Nations through participation in events held by the Department for Economic and Social Affairs, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Population Fund in events related to the impact of COVID-19 and other themes. 1 2 3 A/75/185. The Impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples in Latin America (Abya Yala): Between Invisibility and Collective Resistance (United Nations publication, 2021), p. 11. All submissions will be available at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/CallforInputCOVIDRecovery.aspx. 3