A/HRC/35/41/Add.1 39. Although performance data are collected, including the class repetition rate, they are not disaggregated and simply compare rural and urban performances. At higher education levels, it is evident that minority groups, especially indigenous peoples, are not represented either as students or faculty. 40. Access to safe drinking water remains a challenge for a number of communities. The Special Rapporteur conducted a follow-up visit to the community of Nam Qom, in Formosa, which had already received several visits, including by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, regarding its living conditions and land struggles. The community is located 30 minutes from the Governor’s building yet still does not benefit from running water, nor adequate sanitation or housing. The community has evidently been neglected by provincial authorities and resembles a slum. The Rapporteur notes the serious discrepancy between the progress reported in all sectors by the local government and the complaints received from local civil society actors and indigenous communities that travelled from across the province to meet with him. This is not an isolated case. The Rapporteur noted a paternalistic approach to addressing indigenous questions that favours a welfare response rather than a strategy to sustainably empower those communities. Violations of civil and political rights 41. The Special Rapporteur is seriously concerned about the information regarding the continued harassment and violence directed towards indigenous communities, both by government agents or made possible through their complicity or inaction. These have often taken place in the context of the ongoing land disputes previously described by human rights mechanisms that have reviewed Argentina. While the adjudication of these cases by the local courts hardly ever goes in the favour of the communities, there is a continued criminalization of communities who often stage protests by blocking national roads to be heard since they have very few means of making their claims visible. These protests and demonstrations have been violently repressed by excessive use of force by local security forces, at times using tear gas and rubber bullets against crowds of elders, women and children. The continued criminalization of community leaders and defenders is also very worrisome. This further contributes to reinforcing horizontal discrimination and stigmatization of indigenous peoples. It was reported that at times local authorities had fostered resentment against indigenous peoples. 42. The Special Rapporteur would like to bring attention to section IV. A of the 2012 report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya (A/HRC/21/47/Add.2), in which he describes violations related to land tenure. The Special Rapporteur is highly disappointed that no progress has been made in that regard and — given that the legal provisions ordering the suspension of evictions of indigenous communities from the lands they occupy is soon to expire — he reiterates the recommendations contained in the aforementioned report. 43. Most worrisome is the continued persecution of certain communities. On 30 September 2015, several members of the Qom Potae Napocná Navogoh “La Primavera”, in Formosa, were wounded by the provincial security forces following a blockade by a group of 10 women with their children who were claiming their right to decent housing. This community had already been subjected to violent repression in 2010 in similar circumstances leading to the death of a community member and a police officer. In 2011, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued precautionary measures No. 404-10 instructing the protection of the community. Their leader, Felix Diaz, still faces a number of criminal charges, and his family is subjected to harassment. This is an emblematic case yet believed to be representative of many others as documented by the organization Amnesty International.14 44. The Special Rapporteur also received information about a trend of reprisal against lawyers providing legal counsel to indigenous communities. He heard, for example, about 14 10 In 2015,Amnesty International published a mapping of 200 cases of conflicts in Argentina involving indigenous communities. See http://territorioindigena.com.ar/.