UN special rapporteur on the situation in human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people James Anaya arrived in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk territory on a two-day visit on Sunday. He will visit Evenki settlements and discuss local legislative initiatives in support of indigenous peoples, a source at the territorial administration told Itar-Tass.

Krasnoyarsk authorities are working on a bill, which will protect the habitat and traditional lifestyle of indigenous people. A working group made up of representatives of the territorial government, the legislative assembly, municipal authorities, indigenous people and the public is drafting the bill.

The bill will be discussed in local communities, so that it fully takes into account the interests of indigenous people. “We hope to consult James Anaya about this bill,” the source said.

“We will show him schools, hospitals and other social facilities built for indigenous people,” deputy head of the territorial administration’s department for external relations Igor Kurtushin told Itar-Tass. He noted that it would not be easy to visit the Evenki sites due to peculiar weather patterns. The villages can be reached by helicopter, and weather is too bad for flying sometimes, he said.

Indigenous people amount to 0.6 percent of the population of the Krasnoyarsk territory (16,400, including 9,500 living in the Taimyr municipality and 4,000 in the Evenki municipality). The regional authorities spent 84 million rubles in support of indigenous people this year.

The Commission on Human Rights decided to appoint in 2001 a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, as part of the system of thematic special procedures. The Special Rapporteur's mandate was renewed by the Commission on Human Rights in 2004 and by the Human Rights Council, which replaced the Commission, in 2007.

On 26 March 2008, the Human Rights Council appointed Professor S. James Anaya (United States of America), for an initial period of three years. Professor Anaya is the James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy at the University of Arizona (United States).

Anaya started his Russian visit on October 5 at the invitation of Russian authorities.

"I will investigate and report on the major challenges faced by indigenous peoples of the country in the enjoyment of their human rights," Anaya said announcing his twelve-day mission, "with a view toward contributing to steps to address those problems, as well as to identify good practices."

It is the first mission by a UN independent expert monitoring the rights of indigenous people to the Russian Federation, where there are over 40 officially recognized indigenous peoples, comprising more than a quarter of a million persons (about 2% of the total population) located mainly in the North, Siberia and Far East parts of Russia.

The Special Rapporteur will travel to Moscow, Khanty-Mansiysk, Krasnoyarsk, and Khabarovsk to hold discussions with government representatives, indigenous communities and civil society groups on the human rights of indigenous peoples.

A press conference will be held in Moscow at the conclusion of the Special Rapporteur's visit - on Friday, 16 October 2009, with additional information to follow - and the Special Rapporteur will present the visit's findings in a forthcoming session of the Human Rights Council.

Tags: Russia  United Nations  Special Rapporteur  Evenki  Krasnoyarsk