upon by outsiders and have been subjected to development aggression.78 79. In the Philippines, although IPs are estimated to make up 17% of the population, most of the country’s remaining biodiversity is located in their domains, where most of the large-scale mining companies operate. This situation is not unique to the Philippines. 80. In several Observations,79 the UN Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) raised its apprehension about the impact of large-scale extractive industries on IPs and the HR abuses committed by the investors, in many cases, with the support of States who have put their security forces at the disposal of corporations.80 The UNHRC81 and the UNCESCR82 had similarly decried corporate plunder of indigenous resources in their own Observations. Professor S. James Anaya, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of IPs, said that “even the most isolated indigenous groups are now threatened by encroaching commercial, government, or other interests motivated by prospects of accumulating wealth from the natural resources on indigenous lands.”83 Professor Rodolfo Stavenhagen, also a former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of IPs, visited the Philippines to look into the situation of IPs. In his report, he claimed: The Special Rapporteur was informed that indigenous areas are frequently subject to sweeping military operations to clear the way for future development projects, be they mining, logging, or large-scale plantations on indigenous lands, while government sources claim that these military operations are part of the fight against the insurgents. Thus, tribal areas are combed by the military once or several times in anticipation of the activities 78 Center for Social Action and Concern of De La Salle University, A Briefing Paper on Lumad Issues, in PALASO (Vol. 1, Issue 1, October 2015), at 3, available at http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/offices/cosca/pdf/palaso-%20oct2015-Lumad-hq.pdf. 79 See, for instance, Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations/Comments on Nigeria, CERD/C/NGA/CO/18 01/11/2005; Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations/Comments on Guatemala, CERD/C/GTM/CO/11 15 May 2006; Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Decision 1(68), United States of America, (Early Warning & Urgent Action Procedure). CERD/C/USA/DEC/1, 11 April 2006; Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations/Comments on Guatemala, CERD/C/GTM/CO/11 15 May 2006; and Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations/Comments on Guyana, CERD/C/GUY/CO/14 4 April 2006. 80 Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations/Comments on Nigeria, CERD/C/ NGA/CO/18 01/11/2005. 81 See, for instance, UNHRC, Concluding Observations on Sweden, UN doc. CCPR/CO/74/SWE (2002); UNHRC, Concluding Observations on the Philippines , 1 December 2003, CCPR/CO/79/PHL; UNHRC, Concluding Observations on Colombia, 26 May 2004, CCPR/CO/80/COL; UNHRC, Concluding Observations on Thailand, 8 July 2005, CCPR/CO/84/THA; and UNHRC, Concluding observations on Brazil, 1 December 2005, CCPR/C/BRA/CO/2. 82 As, for instance, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding observations on Venezuela, 21 May 2001, E/C.12/1/Add.56; UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding observations on Panama, 24 September 2001, E/C.12/1/Add.64; UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) Concluding Observations on Colombia, 30 November 2001, E/C.12/Add. 1/74; UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on Brazil, 26 June 2003, E/C.12/1/Add.87; UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on Ecuador, 7 June 2004, E/C.12/1/Add.100; and UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) Concluding observations the Russian Federation, 20/05/97. E/C.12/1/Add.13, at para. 29-30. 83 S. JAMES ANAYA, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW 4 (2004). 19