A/HRC/36/22
the identity of eight indigenous communities of the Areng valley. OHCHR facilitated the
building of trust between indigenous peoples and the authorities and raised awareness of
indigenous peoples’ rights among all stakeholders. In Kampong Speu, the Office held
meetings with the provincial cadastral office to support the process of preliminary mapping
of the communal land of the Oral indigenous community, a process that has been halted
owing to a question surrounding the preliminary mapping, which the indigenous
community has opposed.
61.
The Office supported the participation of indigenous representatives in ongoing
consultations on three law and policy documents related to intellectual property rights: a
draft law on agricultural land; a draft environmental code; and draft guidelines on public
participation in environmental impact assessments. The Office continued to work with the
Ministry of Land Management, Urban Construction and Planning, the Ministry of Rural
Development, local governments and civil society organizations to support the efforts of
indigenous peoples to apply for collective land titles. OHCHR assisted with the provision
of legal aid to communities that have suffered violations of their land rights. It also
supported the Bunong communities from Busra in Mondulkiri Province to better assert their
rights in relation to negotiations with a private company that had been granted a land
concession. OHCHR observed and facilitated the meetings of the tripartite committee,
which comprised representatives from the company, the Bunong communities affected by
the land concession and local authorities. As a follow-up to the project, OHCHR partnered
with an independent mediation group and committed to provide technical support to the
affected indigenous communities during the pre-mediation period. Compensation
agreements have since been reached in relation to one sacred site and the company made a
commitment to review over 100 pending land claims. The role of OHCHR as a third-party
broker helped the parties to engage in good-faith negotiations and to seek solutions to
outstanding disputes over indigenous peoples’ land and sacred forests.
62.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in
Colombia supported the establishment of an Ethnic Commission for Peace and the Defence
of Territorial Rights, an alliance of indigenous and Afro-Colombian organizations, and
contributed to its inclusion in the Havana peace dialogues between the Government and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The outcome of this engagement was
the inclusion of the “Ethnic Chapter” in the final peace accord, which includes principles
applicable to the entire accord that guarantee that Afro-Colombians’ and indigenous
peoples’ rights are safeguarded. The Office also provided support to local dialogue
processes in Cauca and contributed to the agreements reached between the Uwa people and
the Government in relation to gas exploitation in their ancestral territory. It further
supported the dialogue between governmental institutions and indigenous peoples in Nariño
and Putumayo on the voluntary programmes to substitute the growing of illicit crops with
legal ones, in the framework of the implementation of the peace agreement.
63.
The Office participated at the Mesa Permanente de Concertación, a national forum
in which the representatives of indigenous peoples’ main communities dialogue with the
national Government on the adoption and implementation of legislative or administrative
measures that may affect them.
64.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in
Guatemala is providing technical assistance to the institutions responsible for dealing with
land related conflicts, such as the Secretary of Agrarian Affairs and the Land Fund. There
are currently 1,448 land conflicts in Guatemala, including on the existence of overlapping
land titles, territorial limits, regularization and occupation of lands. The Office monitors
cases of forced displacement of indigenous communities reclaiming lands, from which they
were often forcibly displaced during the armed conflict and which are now under the
control of private interests. The Office is also monitoring and documenting cases of
conflicts faced by indigenous and campesino communities related to the administration of
protected areas.
65.
In August 2016, OHCHR organized a three-day meeting in Nakuru, Kenya, to
enhance dialogue between members of the Endorois community, the Kenya National
Human Rights Commission and Department of Justice, as well as the Ministry of Tourism
and Kenya Welfare Service, as a follow-up to the decision by the African Commission on
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