A/HRC/4/77
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Maskwacis Cree Territory, Alberta. More than 470 participants attended the meeting, including
a large number of community-based indigenous representatives that live in treaty areas in
the country. Among the conclusions and recommendations made by the participants was
the proposal to research and preserve oral histories, traditional knowledge and cultural
understanding of treaties; a suggestion that the Human Rights Council include a consideration of
treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous peoples
in its universal periodic review process; and a recommendation that further information be
gathered on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements in Asia and Africa.
25.
The question of indigenous peoples living in isolation or voluntary isolation has been
raised in various forums, including the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, as well as by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people. In response to a recommendation
made by the Permanent Forum, OHCHR in cooperation with the Government of Bolivia, the
Bolivian Confederacy of Indigenous Peoples and the International Working Group for
Indigenous Affairs organized a regional seminar on indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation
and in initial contact of the Amazonian Basin and El Chaco, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, from 20
to 22 November 2006. Participants reached an agreement and approved by consensus the
“Llamamiento de Santa Cruz”, a nine-page document with more than 50 specific
recommendations for States, international organizations and civil society. The document reflects
the high level of vulnerability of these isolated peoples and the need for urgent action.
Participants made recommendations in relation to the principle of non-contact, the importance of
protecting their lands and territories from trespass, the prohibition of damaging economic
activities in the lands and territories of those peoples, and the importance of international and
regional cooperation for their protection. The report and the Llamamiento de Santa Cruz will be
submitted to the sixth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
VI. TECHNICAL COOPERATION/COUNTRY ENGAGEMENT
26.
Regional consultations held by OHCHR in preparation for its 2006-2007 programme
identified indigenous peoples as an important, and in some regions, critical issue for inclusion in
technical cooperation activities. Hence, over the period, country offices and human rights
advisers have incorporated projects addressing the human rights situation of indigenous peoples.
Activities related to indigenous peoples have been or are being undertaken by OHCHR staff in a
number of countries including Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico and Nepal. In two countries, specific programmes to follow up on
the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples are in place. OHCHR provides a thematic unit to
support mainstreaming of indigenous issues to both the human rights mechanisms and country
programmes.
27.
In Mexico, a programme for indigenous peoples is being implemented as a follow-up to
the official visit of the Special Rapporteur to the country in 2003. Activities include training of
civil servants from the executive and judicial branches on human rights instruments and
protection mechanisms relating to indigenous people, cooperation with the National Commission
on the Development of Indigenous People, and informational programmes in human rights
through a nationwide radio campaign on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and other
international protection mechanisms in more than 20 different indigenous languages. OHCHR is
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