A/66/288 3. Promoting support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 35. Another important way in which good practices can be promoted among both national and international entities is by advancing a policy of commitment to the rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. To that end, the Special Rapporteur has actively encouraged support for the Declaration by those States that did not vote in favour of its adoption by the General Assembly in 2007. In recent years, he has welcomed the reversal of positions by Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, the four States that had cast votes against the Declaration. He has been pleased to observe that Colombia and Samoa, States that had abstained from the vote, have since declared their support for the Declaration. The Special Rapporteur has devoted sections of his thematic reports to further analysis of the Declaration and its implementation. 36. The Special Rapporteur has sought to promote awareness of and action in accordance with the Declaration through a number of activities. In June 2011, he testified at a hearing of the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs entitled “Setting the standard: the domestic policy implication of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. In April 2011, he gave the keynote address at the biennial conference of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council in Australia, at which the Land Council discussed the Declaration as a benchmark for major aspects of its work. Additionally, he gave a presentation on the Declaration to representatives of various United Nations agencies in a seminar organized by UNDP in New York, on 20 May 2009, at which he emphasized the role of United Nations agencies and programmes in implementing the Declaration. 4. Other measures to promote good practices 37. Participation in seminars or conferences involving indigenous peoples, experts, Government representatives and other actors has been an important means by which the Special Rapporteur has sought to promote good practices. 38. In March 2011, the Special Rapporteur gave the keynote address at an expert workshop in Berlin convened by the Federal Ministry on Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, concerning German development cooperation in Africa and Asia. 39. In May 2010, the Special Rapporteur participated in a seminar on multiculturalism and the oil and gas industry in Latin America and the Caribbean in Cartagena, Colombia, organized by the Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The seminar provided an opportunity for dialogue with representatives of oil and gas companies, as well as with academics and members of civil society, on the obligations of private companies to respect international standards regarding indigenous peoples’ rights. 40. The Special Rapporteur participated in a seminar on indigenous rights, held in Jakarta on 16 and 17 March 2009, sponsored by the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia and the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago. At the seminar, the Human Rights Commission and the Peoples’ Alliance announced an agreement on a joint programme to address indigenous issues — a good example of coordination between a State’s independent human rights commission and a major indigenous organization. 8 11-44942