*In some countries, it is extremely difficult to obtain recent quantitative
data ; where figures are available, they are not necessarily relevant and have
led us to extrapolate and make what may appear as arbitrary selections.
*The picture put forward in this report is as up-to-date as possible. But
in order to make comparisons possible, the data actually covers a period
beginning at the end of the 1970s.
*The documents referred to are both numerous and heterogeneous. In many
cases, precious information was extracted from publications not dealing
specifically with our topic and was integrated together with other
references.
*As far as the rights of indigenous peoples are concerned, it is often
difficult to obtain more than formal statements and, except for Brazil, to find
out to what extent they are actually taken into account. It is equally
difficult to assess how representative indigenous leaders are, to evaluate the
effectiveness of their actions and those of the various indigenous
organizations. In this context, we chose to be cautious and results were
appreciated in terms of the duration and intensity of a given action.