A/HRC/18/35
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
11 July 2011
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Eighteenth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous
peoples, James Anaya
Extractive industries operating within or near indigenous territories
Summary
The present report is the fourth annual report submitted to the Human Rights
Council by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, pursuant to Council
resolution 15/14.
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur provides a summary of the activities
carried out during his third year in the mandate, including cooperation with other
international and regional mechanisms and bodies in the field of indigenous rights, and the
activities carried out in his four main areas of work: promoting good practices; country
reports; specific cases of alleged human rights violations; and thematic studies.
The Special Rapporteur devotes the second half of the report to an analysis of the
impact of extractive industries operating within or near indigenous territories following the
distribution of a questionnaire on the issue to Governments, indigenous peoples,
corporations and civil society. The growing awareness of the impact of extractive industries
on the rights of indigenous peoples is further raised by the concerns expressed by many of
the responses received confirming the assertion that these projects and industries are
becoming the greatest challenges to the exercise of the rights of indigenous peoples. This
situation is further evidenced by the lack of understanding of basic minimum standards on
the effects of extractive industries affecting indigenous peoples and about the role and
responsibility of the State to ensure protection of their rights.
The Special Rapporteur concludes with the need to continue the study of this issue
GE.11-14639