Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms of indigenous people

Communications

As part of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur intervenes in response to alleged violations of the rights of indigenous peoples. The intervention can relate to a human rights violation that has already occurred, is ongoing, or which has a high risk of occurring. The process, in general, involves the sending of a confidential communication to the concerned Government requesting information and comments on the allegation and that preventive or investigatory action be taken.

See also Submitting information to the Special Rapporteur 

Communication reports*/

*/ The Communications reports reproduce the summary of the communications sent and the replies received in OHCHR’s three working languages (English, French, Spanish).

Communications procedure

Types of communications

The communications sent by the Special Rapporteur are of two types: urgent appeals, in cases of imminent danger of violations of the rights of indigenous individuals and communities; and allegation letters: if violations have already occurred or the situation is of a less urgent character.

Types of cases  

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur is broadly defined, and thus his communications have focused on a wide range of issues related to the rights of indigenous peoples, both individual and collective. Past communications include cases of killings, tortures, threats, and other abuses committed against indigenous leaders and community members. In addition, the Special Rapporteur has sent communications in relation to violations of indigenous peoples’ rights over lands and natural resources, such as dispossession and removal, lack of prior consultation regarding development projects, etc. The Special Rapporteur has also intervened with regard to the content of national legislation and policies that have a direct impact on indigenous peoples.

Requirements

No formal requirements exist in order for the Special Rapporteur to send communications. The exhaustion of domestic remedies is not required, nor a detailed legal argument about the case. Any person or organization can send information to the Special Rapporteur irrespective of the relationship with the victim(s) of the alleged violation.

Procedure

As information arrives, the Special Rapporteur first seeks to determine the validity of the information and decides whether it is advisable to send a communication to the Government concerned. The decision to intervene is at the discretion of the Special Rapporteur special procedure mandate holder. This decision will depend on various criteria, related to the reliability of the source and the credibility of information received; the detail provided; and the scope of the mandate itself. Depending upon the specificities of the case, a joint communication may be sent by several Special Rapporteurs.

Follow-up

The Government may react to the Special Rapporteur’s letter and investigate the alleged facts, and/or take action to prevent or end any violation, but this is not always the case. In some cases, the Special Rapporteur may follow-up with further communications or other types of actions. However, resource limitations make it impossible to follow-up on every case, and past experiences have shown that a lot of the impact of the Special Rapporteur’s actions depends on the mobilization of civil society and indigenous organizations, as well as on their efficient use of the mechanism.  

Confidentiality

The communications are confidential, and the sources are not disclosed. A summary of all the communications sent by the Special Rapporteur during the year along with the responses received from the Governments concerned, are published as an annex to the Special Rapporteur’s annual report to the Human Rights Council (Addendum 1).

Download the Brochure on the Special Rapporteur’s communications procedure.