A/HRC/45/34/Add.1 57. Representatives of communities in Sangha all raised the issue of lack of employment or any other source of income to support their families. Indigenous people used to feel confident in their ability to hunt and collect forest produce to sustain their families but now considered hunting too risky due to the repeated arrests and acts of harassment to which they were subjected by “eco-guards”. In addition, the gathering and selling of forest produce did not generate enough income because the Bantu population only bought vegetables and other forest produce at very low prices and indigenous peoples lacked the means to transport their harvest to busy markets. 58. Many indigenous persons specifically expressed the wish to work for the logging company CIB or for the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park run by the Wildlife Conservation Society in order to gain stable and decent work. Both CIB and the Wildlife Conservation Society cited high levels of illiteracy, lack of qualifications and the semi-nomadic lifestyle as major barriers to the employment of indigenous peoples, and said that they preferred to recruit indigenous peoples for a limited number of roles that specifically drew on their indigenous knowledge, for example as animal trackers, to guide tourists to wildlife, or tree specialists. Indigenous persons are also hired as communicators, to do outreach and carry out consultation and awareness-raising activities involving indigenous communities. 59. Specific professional training and education programmes could be prepared together with indigenous peoples to increase their access to employment in the private and public sectors. Employers should, in consultation with communities and with the support of the Government, be encouraged to adapt workplace environments and conditions to the social, cultural and economic particularities of local indigenous peoples. 60. The serfdom of indigenous peoples by Bantu populations that had been observed during the previous Special Rapporteur’s visit reportedly persisted in certain areas of Sangha and Likouala Departments but was not directly observed by the current Special Rapporteur during her visit. Labour and economic exploitation was a reality. Some indigenous women reported working in the fields from the early hours of the day for CFA 500–700 (approximately US$ 1) per day. The adoption on 17 June 2019 of Law No. 222019 criminalizing human trafficking, including for the purposes of labour exploitation and serfdom, was a positive development to tackle the “master and slave” relationship that had historically defined dynamics between certain Bantus and indigenous peoples. 61. As part of efforts to return the benefits of forest exploitation to the local population, CIB is contributing to community social funds managed by advisory committees composed of representatives of local populations and authorities. Local populations, including indigenous peoples, can submit projects aimed at establishing income-generating activities in the community. Local stakeholders reported that the projects proposed by indigenous communities, such as agriculture projects or goat farming, had overall not yielded positive results, while acknowledging that this may be due in part to the fact that agriculture and livestock farming are not activities traditionally performed by indigenous peoples. The advisory committee in Ouesso proposed funding the salary of an expert to provide technical guidance to ensure that indigenous-led projects enjoy a greater success rate. 62. The Special Rapporteur’s previous report highlighted that poverty reduction and income-generating activities had often been premised on assisting and encouraging indigenous peoples to adopt sedentary agropastoral lifestyles that may have been disruptive to them. Mindful of this, advisory committees should strive to fund income-generating activities that are more adapted to indigenous peoples’ existing way of life, such as the commercialization of honey, wild vegetables or traditional medicinal herbs at sustainable prices. Such activities could also lead to greater recognition by Bantus of indigenous peoples’ special skills and contribution. In this respect, CIB has supported the training of traditional healers among indigenous peoples. Indigenous women’s access to decent salaries and conditions of work should be given special attention in these projects so as to foster their social and economic empowerment. 63. The cultural appropriateness of economic activities proposed to indigenous peoples should be given particular consideration in the implementation of nationwide economic 12