A/HRC/22/43 C. Vulnerable groups and non-discrimination 44. As the Council has recognized in its resolution 16/11, “environmental damage is felt most acutely by those segments of the population already in vulnerable situations”. Resolution 19/10 instructs the Independent Expert to apply a gender perspective by, inter alia, considering the particular situation of women and girls and identifying gender-specific discrimination and vulnerabilities,31 and it is clear that women and children are among the groups vulnerable to environmental harm. The special procedures and OHCHR have identified other groups as well. For example, the then Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty pointed out in a report to the General Assembly (A/65/259) that “environmental degradation disproportionately affects those living in extreme poverty” (para. 37). The then representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons highlighted in a report (A/HRC/10/13) “normative gaps in the current legal framework for protection of those displaced by the effects of global warming” (para. 22). And the OHCHR report on climate change (A/HRC/10/61) emphasized that, in addition to creating large numbers of migrants, climate change will particularly affect other vulnerable groups, including women, children and indigenous peoples (paras. 42–54). 45. Indigenous peoples are at particular risk from many kinds of environmental damage because of their cultural and economic dependence on environmental resources. As the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people has explained in a report (A/HRC/15/37, para. 71), “in recognition of the special ties that indigenous peoples maintain with the natural habitats of the territories in which they live, international standards widely acknowledge indigenous peoples‟ „right to the conservation and protection of the environment‟ and of the „productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources‟ ([United Nations] Declaration [on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples], art. 29.1) and at the same time call for the adoption of „special measures ... for safeguarding‟ their environment (ILO Convention No. 169, art. 4.1)”.32 In 2011, the Special Rapporteur33 concluded that “the implementation of natural resource extraction and other development projects on or near indigenous territories has become one of the foremost concerns of indigenous peoples worldwide, and possibly also the most pervasive source of the challenges to the full exercise of their rights” (A/HRC/18/35, para. 57). 46. Although the environmental threats to vulnerable groups are coming into sharper focus, the applicable human rights obligations are still not always as clear as they should be. Issues include the scope and application of duties of non-discrimination, as well as duties relating to special procedural and substantive rights reflective of the groups‟ vulnerable situation. 31 32 33 As the father of three daughters, the Independent Expert understands the importance of such a perspective. More generally, article 7, paragraph 4, of the Convention requires Governments to “take measures, in co-operation with the peoples concerned, to protect and preserve the environment of the territories they inhabit”. Mandate had by then changed to Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. 15