A/HRC/45/22 women in protecting agricultural biodiversity and the importance of empowering young people to rediscover the value of their cultural heritage was discussed at length. During the event, OHCHR representatives held several meetings with indigenous representatives and participated in a panel discussion focused on land rights and access for the revival of indigenous food culture. 42. During the reporting period, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommended that States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women protect the rights of indigenous women and communities to their lands and resources by amending relevant laws and ensuring the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples before any development projects affecting them were initiated, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (CEDAW/C/GUY/CO/9, para. 44 (b) and (c)). 43. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called upon States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to guarantee the right of indigenous peoples to freely dispose of their lands and territories, to protect collective and customary forms of land tenure systems and to resolve pending claims of land ownership (see E/C.12/ECU/CO/4 and E/C.12/ISR/CO/4). The Committee is developing a general comment on the right to land under the Covenant.9 44. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination underlined the lack of measures to protect indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation or in a situation of initial contact among States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. States parties to the Convention were also advised to guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples living in protected areas and to recognize and ensure their access to lands and ability to dispose of their natural resources. The Committee requested that States parties ensure protection against forced displacement or eviction and to stop the eviction of indigenous peoples from their homes and traditional lands (see CERD/C/SLV/CO/18-19, CERD/C/MEX/CO/18-21 and CERD/C/COL/CO/17-19). 45. In October 2019, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples held an intersessional meeting in Pretoria on the right to land under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The issue is also the focus of the draft study on the right to land under the Declaration (A/HRC/EMRIP/2020/2), the final version of which will be submitted to the Human Rights Council for consideration at its forty-fifth session. 46. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples submitted an amicus brief to the Constitutional Court of Peru 10 in October 2019 regarding the situation of the Community of Santa Clara de Uchunya, in relation to its efforts to obtain legal recognition of its territory and to protect it from the expansion of monocultures in the region, in particular palm oil plantations. The brief was submitted against the backdrop of increasing violence and threats against members of the community who were defending their rights to their lands.11 She also made a submission to the Constitutional Court of Brazil highlighting the importance of using the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a frame of reference when examining indigenous people’s traditional lands, territories and natural resources and grounding the recognition of indigenous lands in criteria such as traditional use and possession, without temporal limitation. 47. The Working Group on business and human rights and the United Nations Development Programme organized the inaugural South Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights in March 2019 in New Delhi. A session was held on the adverse impact of developments projects, including those funded by international financial institutions, on the human rights of individuals and communities, recognizing that such large-scale economic 9 10 11 8 For more information, see www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CESCR/Pages/ GeneralDiscussionLand.aspx. Peru, Constitutional Court, case No. 03696-2017-AA/TC. Available from www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/ Pages/ExpertTestimony.aspx.