A/HRC/18/35 understanding among indigenous peoples, governmental actors, businesses enterprises and other relevant actors. The Special Rapporteur is conscious of the complexities inherent to any effort to harmonize the various interests involved in context of extractive industries and indigenous peoples, as well as of the difficulties in bridging the contrasting viewpoints that currently exist among the actors concerned. 68. The Special Rapporteur is, however, persuaded of the need to advance towards a minimum common understanding of the content and scope of the rights of indigenous peoples and of the implications of those rights for the future desirability or viability of extractive industries on or near indigenous territories, the nature of the responsibility of States to protect indigenous peoples’ rights in this context, the actual or potential impact of extractive industries – both positive and negative –and related matters. Without a minimum level of common understanding, the application of indigenous rights standards will continue to be contested, indigenous peoples will continue to be vulnerable to serious abuses of their individual and collective human rights, and extractive activities that affect indigenous peoples will continue to face serious social and economic problems. C. Plan of work 69. In implementing his mandate since his appointment in 2008, the Special Rapporteur has actively pursued his core tasks of monitoring the human rights conditions of indigenous peoples worldwide and of promoting the improvement of those conditions in a spirit of cooperation and responsiveness. In doing so, the Special Rapporteur has been mindful of the directive of the Human Rights Council, namely, that he should place a particular emphasis on the promotion of good practices and technical assistance. 70. The reports submitted by the Special Rapporteur over the past three years tell of the situations in which he has intervened in particular countries in order to promote a clearer understanding of existing problems, as well as to make concrete recommendations to address those problems based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other relevant international instruments. In the Special Rapporteur’s view, the numerous instances in which he has contributed actively to the process of developing new policies, legislation and constitutional reforms concerning indigenous peoples’ rights, at the request of Governments, international organizations and indigenous peoples are also significant. 71. The effects of the Special Rapporteur’s work has been clearly dependent on the capacity of the actors involved to enter into a principled dialogue in which the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations and proposals may serve as the basis for finding solutions to the identified problems within the framework of the protection of indigenous peoples’ rights. In a number of cases, his recommendations have been at least partially taken into account in the definition of State policies and legislation. The impact of the Special Rapporteur’s thematic analysis of key areas is also discernable in comparative practice, and particularly in a number of recent decisions by domestic courts.11 72. In defining his plan of work for the remainder of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur is guided by a pragmatic approach that seeks to increase the practical effect of his activities within the limitations in which he operates. His experience over the past three years indicates that this can be best achieved by identifying and promoting shared understandings of the basic contents of indigenous peoples’ rights, as well as to provide practical guidance on how to operationalize them. 11 See for example decisions 2878-2007 (21 December 2009) and T-2451120 (3 March 2011) of the Constitutional Court of Colombia. 16