A/HRC/15/35 peoples, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged States parties to ensure that members of indigenous peoples had equal rights in respect of effective participation in public life and that no decisions directly relating to their rights and interests were taken without their informed consent.8 16. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights contains provisions affirming the right to participate in the economic, social and cultural life of the State. In its general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasized that the principle of non-discrimination and equality, as articulated in article 2 (2) and reflected throughout the Covenant, applies to all the rights contained in the Convention.9 A. International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 17. The International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 (1989) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries contains a number of key provisions on the right to participation of indigenous peoples. The Convention itself is grounded in the recognition of the aspirations of indigenous peoples to exercise control over their own institutions, ways of life and economic development, and to maintain and develop their identities, languages and religions within the framework of the State in which they live; the rights of consultation and participation thus represent the cornerstone of the Convention. Articles 2 and 33 of the Convention require States to institutionalize the participation of indigenous peoples in policies that affect them, as an essential framework for the proper application of the provisions of the Convention. These provisions provide for States to develop coordinated and systematic action, with the participation of indigenous peoples from the outset, to protect the rights of these peoples and to guarantee respect for their integrity.10 18. Articles 6, 7 and 15 of Convention No. 169 provide a general legal framework with regard to the consultation and participation of indigenous peoples. Article 6 requires that indigenous peoples be consulted in good faith through appropriate procedures and, in particular, through their representative institutions, with the objective of achieving agreement or consent, whenever consideration is being given to legislative or administrative measures that may affect them directly. This applies to all levels of decisionmaking. Although the obligation to consult under the provisions of the Convention is interpreted as not requiring that an agreement be reached with indigenous peoples, article 6 (2) nonetheless requires that there should be an “objective of achieving agreement or consent” to the proposed measure. 19. Article 7 establishes that indigenous peoples have, inter alia, the right to decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy or otherwise use, and, to the extent possible, to exercise control over their own economic, social and cultural development. These provisions on consultation and participation are key provisions of the Convention and establish an important basis for applying all the other provisions, although a number of other provisions also make references to the duty of States in relation to consultation and participation.11 8 9 10 11 6 Para. 4 (d). Para. 2. See also the Committee’s general comment No. 21 (2009) on the right of everyone to take part in cultural life, paras. 7, 21–24, 36–37. Submission by the International Labour Organization (ILO). ILO, International Labour Standards Department, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Rights in Practice: