E/C.12/GTM/CO/3 (d) The creation of the Zero Hunger Plan (Plan Hambre Cero) (2012); (e) The introduction of the National Policy for the Advancement and Comprehensive Development of Women and of the Equal Opportunities Plan (2009); (f) The establishment of the National Policy on Comprehensive Rural Development (2009). C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations The right to land and to natural resources 6. The Committee finds it regrettable that the State party has not granted legal recognition to indigenous peoples in its Constitution. The Committee is also concerned that the State party has no effective legal mechanism for recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples as such to obtain collective land titles. The Committee regrets the lack of up-to-date statistics on the number of indigenous persons living in the State party (arts. 1, 2 and 15). The Committee recommends that the State party grant recognition to indigenous peoples in its Constitution. It also recommends that the State party incorporate mechanisms for recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples over their traditional lands and their natural resources. The Committee urges the State party to conduct an up-to-date census of the indigenous population and to continue strengthening measures to ensure their effective enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights. Consultation of indigenous peoples 7. The Committee takes note of the State’s intention to establish a legal mechanism to conduct free and informed prior consultation of indigenous peoples in respect of all matters of concern to them, in keeping with the recent decisions of the Constitutional Court, which have reasserted the duty of the State party to consult the indigenous peoples. It is in particular concerned that the indigenous peoples are still not effectively consulted, nor is their free, prior and informed consent obtained in the decision-making process concerning the exploitation of the natural resources within their traditional lands. The Committee is also concerned that the indigenous peoples did not participate in the debate over the reform of the Mining Act (arts. 1, 2 and 15). The Committee urges the State party, in connection with the exploration and exploitation of mining resources and hydrocarbons, to adopt expeditious measures to carry out consultations to allow free expression of consent to the desirability of such projects, sufficient time and opportunity to reflect and take a decision, together with measures to preserve cultural integrity and provide reparation, where necessary. In this respect, the Committee recommends that the State party urgently establish a legal mechanism for conducting such consultations, in accordance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It also recommends that the State party revise the legislative and institutional provisions relating to projects for the exploitation of natural resources, in consultation with the indigenous peoples, and that it strengthen its capacity to oversee extractive industries and ensure that they do not have a negative impact on the rights of indigenous peoples, their territory and their natural resources. 2 GE.14-23900