A/HRC/22/50/Add.1 52. While CIDA seeks to ensure that its projects will not result in human rights violations, it does not apply human rights norms and standards in determining aid priorities and implementing programmes. The contribution of Canadian development cooperation to the realization of the right to food could be improved by grounding its duties under the ODA Accountability Act on well-established international human rights norms and standards. In this context, the Special Rapporteur recalls the Maastricht Principles on the extraterritorial obligations of States in the area of economic, social and cultural rights, which clearly describe the duties international human rights law imposes on States, to ensure not only that they respect human rights outside their national territory, but also that they protect human rights and contribute to fulfilling human rights. VIII. Indigenous peoples 53. In Canada, indigenous peoples (the term used in international law) are referred to as Aboriginal peoples, and include all original inhabitants of Canada as recognized by section 35 of the Constitution Act (1982) and comprise First Nations,49 Inuit and Métis. The 2006 Census numbers indicate that there are about 1.1 million Aboriginal people in Canada: 750,000 First Nations, of which over 600,000 are Registered Indians, about 50,000 Inuit across 53 communities, and over 350,000 Métis. In this context, the Special Rapporteur recalls that in human rights terms, indigenous existence and identity do not depend on State recognition or acknowledgment. 54. Like others, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the decision by Canada in November 201050 to support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration affirms fundamental human rights in relation to the particular historical and contemporary circumstances of indigenous peoples. 55. A long history of political and economic marginalization has left many indigenous peoples living in poverty with considerably lower levels of access to adequate food relative to the general population. Though the percentage of low income among Aboriginals living off-reserve declined in recent years, 21.7 per cent of Aboriginals fall below the low income cut-off after tax as defined by Statistics Canada, compared to 11.1 per cent for the nonAboriginal population.51 Despite programmes such as the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (including a First Nations and Inuit component); Aboriginal Head Start (includes on-reserve and urban and northern component); the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative; and Nutrition North Canada, discussed in greater detail below, research conducted by the University of Manitoba noted that in 2008-2009, nearly 60 per cent of First Nations children in northern Manitoba households were food insecure.52 The Inuit Health Survey reported that 70 per cent of adults living in Nunavut were food insecure. This is six times higher than the national average and represents the highest documented food insecurity rate for any aboriginal population in a developed country. 53 Among off-reserve aboriginal 49 50 51 52 53 16 The term First Nations in this context is used to refer to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, both status and non-status. Canada’s Statement of Support on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 12 November 2010, available from www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1309374239861 A. Noel and F. Larocque, “Aboriginal Peoples and Poverty in Canada: Can Provincial Governments Make a Difference?” Paper prepared for the Annual Meeting of the International Sociological Association Research Committee 19, Montréal, 20 August 2009, p. 5, http://www.cccg.umontreal.ca/ RC19/PDF/Noel-A_Rc192009.pdf. Children’s Food Insecurity poster, http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~thompso4/Poster_ CHILDRENfinalagconference.ppt.pdf. R. Rosol et al., “Prevalence of affirmative responses to questions for food insecurity: International Polar Year Inuit Health Survey, 2007-2008” and International Journal of Circumpolar Health, vol.