A/HRC/4/32 page 2 Summary This report is submitted in accordance with Council decision 1/102. Since the submission of his fifth annual report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people has undertaken official visits to Ecuador and Kenya. The reports on those missions may be found at annexes 2 and 3 of this document. The Special Rapporteur is now pleased to submit his sixth annual report to the Council, devoting the thematic part to the various trends that have affected the situation of the human rights of indigenous people over the last six years. In annex 3, the Special Rapporteur presents a study of “best practices” in the implementation of the recommendations included in his previous reports. While there has been progress in the adoption of standards that recognize the rights of indigenous people, the gap when it comes to implementing those standards still remains. To give greater visibility to their needs and rights, indigenous peoples have resorted to various forms of social organization and mobilization that often prove the only way to make their claims heard. However, it is all too often the case that social protest is criminalized, giving rise to new and sometimes grave human rights violations. The continuing trend is towards a decline in the resources of indigenous people, reduction of their land and territorial base, and progressive and accelerated loss of control over their natural resources, in particular their forests. Particularly affected are indigenous peoples living in isolation, above all in the Amazon basin. The existence of pastoral peoples in arid and semi-arid regions is also endangered. Reference is made to cases in various countries. The growing incidence of migration among indigenous people is one of the expressions of globalization and of the inequality and poverty it engenders. Indigenous migrants are particularly subject to violations of their human rights in agricultural and mining work, in the urban environment and at the international level. There is a need for adequate policies to protect the human rights of the increasing numbers of indigenous people who find themselves in such circumstances. Especially deserving of attention are indigenous migrant women and young people, who suffer disproportionately from violence and sexual exploitation. The Special Rapporteur also includes in this report some recommendations to the Council and the member States with a view to improving protection of the human rights of indigenous peoples.