A/80/181 for inputs and a questionnaire to inform his research and foster broad participation. In response, he received over 70 contributions. 28. In view of the amount and richness of the information received, which highlights both the complexity and the significance of the issue, the Special Rapporteur has decided to keep the discussion open and ongoing for two reporting cycles. The present report is therefore presented as an interim and introductory account; he plans to conduct regional consultations and issue a comprehensive final report in 2026. B. Foundational understanding of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources 29. Indigenous Peoples’ land rights are unique in their nature, grounding, scope and purposes. In the present section, the Special Rapporteur outlines core principles of international law underpinning those rights. Those principles must guide States in the processes of identifying, demarcating, registering and titling the lands, territories and resources of Indigenous Peoples. 1. Indigenous Peoples’ land rights are inherent 30. Indigenous Peoples’ land rights are inherent and do not originate from State authority or recognition. They arise from Indigenous Peoples’ long -standing and ancestral ownership, use and occupation of their lands as distinct nations, prior to colonization or the establishment of State boundaries. In the preamble to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it is reaffirmed that “inherent rights of indigenous peoples … derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, especially their rights to their lands, territories and resources”. This provision reaffirms that Indigenous Peoples’ land rights exist regardless of State recognition; any demarcation, registration or titling is declaratory of pre-existing rights. As noted in a submission by one Indigenous People: “lands make us who we are”. Inherent rights are intrinsically connected to their holders. 2. Indigenous Peoples’ land rights are grounded in strong international law principles 31. As regards their legal source, Indigenous Peoples’ land rights are grounded in and stem from their right to self-determination. They allow Indigenous Peoples to exercise greater control over their future as distinct nations with the right to “freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”. 5 Moreover, these rights are also grounded in the international norm of non-racial discrimination. They also serve as a means of redress for the specific historical discrimination that in most cases resulted in dispossession of Indigenous Peoples’ lands. Indigenous Peoples were dehumanized and demeaned as savage to justify the occupation and ownership of their ancestral lands. The self-determination and non-racial discrimination norms are generally accepted as part of customary international law binding on all States. 6 This foundation makes Indigenous Peoples’ land claims unique, legally strong and morally compelling. Few other rights holders have their land rights grounded in such international law principles. __________________ 5 6 8/21 See article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. See A/74/10 and also Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Juridical Condition and Rights of Undocumented Migrants, Advisory Opinion OC-18/03 of 17 September 2003, requested by the United Mexican States, Series A, No. 18, para. 101. 25-11701