A/HRC/15/37/Add.4 I. Introduction 1. In this report, the Special Rapporteur examines the human rights situation of indigenous peoples in Australia, on the basis of research and information gathered, including during a visit to Australia from 17 to 28 August 2009 carried out with the cooperation of the Government and indigenous peoples of the country. During his visit to Australia, the Special Rapporteur met with a wide range of government officials at the federal and State levels and with numerous indigenous communities, organizations and their leaders in several locations across Australia. The complete details of the visit are included in appendix A. The Special Rapporteur would like to express his appreciation for the support of the Government and to the indigenous individuals and organizations that provided indispensible assistance in the planning and coordination of the visit. 2. By a note of 18 December 2009, the Special Rapporteur submitted to the Government a preliminary version of the present report and, on 16 February 2010, received comments from the Government. The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the Government for its detailed comments, which have been taken into account in the preparation of the final version of this report. II. Background and context A. The indigenous peoples of Australia 3. The peoples indigenous to Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, have inhabited the territory of Australia for over 50,000 years. Their population is estimated to have been 750,000 at the start of British colonization in 1788, with about 250 distinct languages and over 600 dialects spoken. The Torres Strait Islander peoples, traditionally occupying the many islands between the Australian continent and what is now Papua New Guinea, have culture, languages and social patterns distinct from the Aboriginal peoples of the continent. 4. Since British occupation, indigenous peoples have suffered oppressive treatment, including acts of genocide, dispossession of lands and social and cultural disintegration, and a history animated by racism that is well-documented in numerous sources. Today, the indigenous population is around 520,350 or 2.5 per cent of the total Australian population.1 A majority of the indigenous population self-identifies as belonging to a specific clan, tribal or language group and many continue to reside within their traditional homelands.2 5. Having suffered a history of oppression and racial discrimination, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples now endure severe disadvantage compared with nonindigenous Australians. There is a significant gap between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples across a range of indicators, all of which are well-documented by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Productivity Commission’s report, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage, and the social justice reports of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission (Social Justice Commissioner), and discussed further in part V. Despite this, during his time in Australia, the Special Rapporteur was impressed with demonstrations of strong and vibrant 1 2 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey, 2008. Ibid. GE.10-13887