Many indigenous peoples believe that restricting access to and use of ancestral territories is equivalent to prohibiting spiritual experiences
There are an estimated 476 million indigenous people worldwide.Roberto Barrios | The Star of Panama
Despite economic and social development, indigenous peoples suffer historical and current discrimination that threatens their spiritual, cultural and even physical survival.
Such marginalization also violates their rights to freedom of religion or belief. This is stated in a historic report published by the United Nations (UN) on freedom of religion or belief.
The document confirms that States not only restrict their sacred ceremonies, their languages and the transmission of their traditional knowledge, but also that indigenous peoples face challenges in exercising their freedom of religion or belief due to their assimilation, forced displacement, violence against environmental and human rights defenders, as well as the destruction of sacred sites.
Given their inextricable relationship between land and the sacred, many indigenous peoples believe that restricting access to and use of ancestral territories is tantamount to prohibiting spiritual experiences, the report says.
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Nazila Ghanea, commented that severe, systematic and systemic discrimination and marginalization affect the ability of indigenous peoples to survive, not to mention prosper, exercising their convictions religious or more intimate beliefs.
Ghana also noted that although indigenous peoples are disproportionately vulnerable to environmental crises, including climate change, many are in a unique position as traditional custodians of nature to use their spiritual and traditional knowledge to conserve it.
It highlights that although article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the followers of any religion or belief system, an issue that is frequently repeated […] it is whether its application has been adequate or appropriate for indigenous peoples.
The report explores ‘indigenous spirituality’ as a typically nature-based ‘way of life’, documents the experiences of affected rights holders, from forced displacement to environmental destruction, and proposes recommendations to protect and promote the freedom of religion or belief of indigenous peoples, in accordance with international law.
The document is guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and by extensive consultations with rights holders from around the world to develop “a framework for productive and sustained exchange.” In addition, it offers practical recommendations to States and other key actors to better protect the right to freedom of religion or belief of indigenous peoples.
There are an estimated 476 million indigenous people worldwide. Although they make up only 6% of the world’s population, they account for around 19% of the extremely poor. Their life expectancy is up to 20 years lower than that of non-indigenous people globally, according to the World Bank.