A/HRC/33/27
of trust between indigenous peoples and the authorities and raised awareness of indigenous
peoples’ rights among all stakeholders.
26.
The office in Cambodia also conducted training on collective land titles for 30
Chorng indigenous families in Pursat Province who are at risk of losing their traditional
land as a result of land grabbing. In October 2015, OHCHR started a pilot project to
support discussions and negotiations between indigenous Bunong communities from the
village of Busra in Mondulkiri Province affected by an economic land concession and the
private company to which the land concession had been granted. As of April 2016,
compensation agreements have been made concerning one sacred site and clear and timebound commitments were made by the company to review over 100 pending land claims.
The office in Cambodia will soon launch two interactive voice response applications in the
Bunong and Kui indigenous languages containing information about the land law,
communal land registration rights and processes, and economic land concessions in
Cambodia.
27.
The regional office for Southern Africa continued to play an active role in many
initiatives related to the promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples. The South African
Human Rights Commission held national investigative hearings on human rights violations
among Khoisan communities in November and December 2015 and April 2016. The
national hearings were convened in several provinces of South Africa on the basis of
complaints received by the Commission from various Khoisan communities (Khoi, San,
Nama, Griqua and Koranna) regarding access to basic services, land and the
constitutionality of indigenous groups in South Africa. The outcome of the hearings will be
a report with concrete recommendations and possibly also action plans on the issue.
28.
In January 2016, a representative from the regional office for South America spoke
at an event on food security and nutrition organized in Peru by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Foro Internacional de Mujeres
Indigenas. The event was part of a broader programme jointly promoted by those two
organizations targeting indigenous women human rights defenders and human rights
activists. The contribution of the regional office focused on the international human rights
system from the perspective of indigenous peoples’ rights. In 2015, in Argentina, OHCHR
responded, together with the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations
Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, FAO and the national human rights
institution, to a child malnutrition crisis among the Qom and Wichi people in the Province
of Salta and conducted a study to identify the economic, social and cultural factors that
contribute to the deaths of indigenous children.
29.
In 2015, the office in Guatemala developed, in coordination with the national human
rights institution, a methodology to observe the implementation of the Government’s
strategy to combat malnutrition, including among indigenous peoples, which are among the
most affected by malnutrition in the country. As part of that work, OHCHR and the national
human rights institution prepared a joint report on the issue that was presented to the
Government and civil society representatives. The office continues to follow up on the
implementation of the recommendations made in the report. In 2016, the office trained the
focal points in the national human rights institution on food security, health, indigenous
peoples and labour rights and on the human rights impact of monoculture activities.
F.
Climate change and indigenous peoples’ rights
30.
The twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Paris in December 2015, brought
together States, the private sector and environmental and human rights organizations.
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