A/HRC/21/23
July 2012 and March 2013. The Board also held its annual meeting with donors on 9 February
2012.
C.
Guidance tools
13.
OHCHR developed further its close engagement with national human rights institutions
(NHRIs) on indigenous issues. At a consultation meeting organized by OHCHR in Geneva in
July 2011, representatives of NHRIs from Australia, Canada, El Salvador, Kenya, Malaysia,
Namibia, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation and South Africa
shared specific examples and possible good practices in addressing the rights of indigenous
peoples at the country level to promote education and awareness-raising; complaints handling;
mediation and conflict resolution; public inquiries on specific rights; legislative inquiries and
law reforms; engagement with international or regional mechanisms; and work in partnerships
with indigenous peoples. OHCHR also partnered ILO, UNDP, UNICEF and World Health
Organization (WHO) to explore how NHRIs are advancing the rights of indigenous peoples in
Latin America. A meeting was organized in the Plurinational State of Bolivia in October 2011
to discuss practical examples of work that national institutions have undertaken in the region.
14.
These activities with NHRIs contributed to a guide that OHCHR is developing in
cooperation with the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions and the
Australian Human Rights Commission on how NHRIs can advance the implementation of the
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Much useful input and many useful
comments were received during the above meetings and will be reflected in the final version of
the guide, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
15.
In collaboration with the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues,
OHCHR organized a meeting in October 2011 in New York to review a draft of the handbook
for parliamentarians on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The meeting was
attended by an advisory board of experts and institutional partners, including the InterParliamentary Union and UNDP. A final version of the handbook is expected by the end of
2012.
16.
OHCHR continued to pay special attention to the situation of indigenous peoples in
voluntary isolation and issued guidelines in May 2012 on indigenous peoples in voluntary
isolation and initial contact in the Amazon Basin and El Chaco, following a series of
consultations in the region, including the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia,
Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Several initiatives are now
being implemented, with OHCHR field presences and in cooperation with the authorities
concerned, to promote this new tool, which has already influenced decision-making processes
at the national level.
D.
Activities of field presences
17.
OHCHR field presences carried out a range of activities on indigenous peoples’ rights at
the regional and country level, including monitoring, support for legal reform, technical
cooperation and capacity-building initiatives, as well as awareness-raising. Some of them are
highlighted above in connection with the activities of the United Nations Indigenous Peoples
Partnership Initiative and the paragraphs below describe some selected additional activities.
18.
During 2011, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central America carried out an
assessment of the situation of the human rights of indigenous peoples in Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. As a result, a plan of action to
enhance the rights of indigenous peoples was developed with the participation of indigenous
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