So far 74 of the 120 Amerindian communities had been issued titles to ancestral lands.

Indigenous rights and such issues as social, economic and cultural development were addressed by the Ministry for Amerindian Affairs, established in 1992, which also ensured that Amerindian interests were taken fully into account in all Government policies, programmes and projects.

11. The Afro Colombians, who are made up of descendants of Africans and of persons of mixed descent, either African and European or Creole People of mixed Spanish and Amerindian origin. or African and Amerindian, number approximately 6 million (16 per cent of the total population).

Meanwhile, the Indigenous Peoples Commission had been constituted, and the 1951 Amerindian Act was being revised to reflect current realities.

51. The contradictions in legislation and regulations are attributable both to the State apos s desire to assign land to the Amerindian and Afro Colombian communities and recognize the territorial autonomy of the Amerindian communities, and to its desire to preserve control over the resources of the soil and subsoil and water resources.

This programme will help to revive Afro Colombian and Amerindian cultures and reverse the acculturation process that has been affecting the populations concerned.

In 2004, the national budgetary allocation had been almost doubled to intensify socioeconomic development in Amerindian communities, in keeping with the national poverty eradication strategy.

2. The Special Rapporteur focused his attention primarily on the Afro Colombian and Amerindian communities who, according to their own statements, are the communities most exposed to racism and racial discrimination.

The Afro Colombian and Amerindian communities, whose way of life and respect for the environment are responsible for the areas apos s preservation, are gradually being dispossessed of these valuable natural resources.

52. In this respect the Special Rapporteur notes that laws and regulations on mining operations and environmental protection conflict with the recognized territorial rights of the Amerindian and Afro Colombian populations as described above.

He nevertheless believes, on the basis of the testimony of the representatives of Amerindian organizations who met with him, that he acquired a sound understanding of the problems confronting the members of the indigenous communities.

According to data from the 1998 demographic and health survey, the ethnic make up of the Nicaraguan population is as follows mestizo (69 per cent), white (17 per cent), black (9 per cent) and Amerindian (5 per cent).

Often innovative approaches had been adopted to ensure the provision of key social services, given the remote locations and small sizes of many Amerindian communities, an example being the escuela nueva initiative for early childhood and primary education.

4. The Special Rapporteur regrets not having been able to visit a resguardo Territory reserved for an internally autonomous Amerindian community. in order to familiarize himself with the living conditions of indigenous populations in rural areas, despite several applications to the Colombian authorities.

In rural areas, where the problem of land ownership and use arises, whether to grow lawful or unlawful crops or to exploit mineral resources, Amerindian and Afro Colombian leaders are murdered by members of paramilitary organizations armed by landowners or drug traffickers.

17. As regards the indigenous populations, it is important to note at the outset that their assertion of identity and aspirations to autonomy led in the colonial era to the delimitation of territories enjoying a degree of autonomy, the resguardos, which were under the authority of Amerindian chiefs, the Cabildos.

Prior to the proclamation of a Decade for the World's Indigenous People, Guyana had undertaken at the international level a commitment to ensure respect for the rights of indigenous people, as shown by the establishment, in 1993, of a Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to ensure the welfare and development of indigenous communities.