E/C.12/76/D/251/2022 E/C.12/76/D/289/2022 associated with their ancestral lands and their relationship with nature should be regarded with respect and protected, in order to prevent the degradation of their particular way of life, including their means of subsistence, and the loss of their natural resources and, ultimately, their cultural identity. 15 The Committee observes that the protection of traditional lands, territories and resources is a prerequisite for the right to an adequate standard of living for Indigenous Peoples, as their traditional lands, territories and resources are an important basis for their livelihoods. 14.3 The Committee notes that the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ right to land as an indispensable part of their right to take part in cultural life is in line with international human rights jurisprudence in this area. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has affirmed that the close ties of Indigenous Peoples to the land must be recognized and understood as the fundamental basis of their cultures, spiritual life, integrity and economic survival and that their relations to the land are a material and spiritual element that they must fully enjoy, even to preserve their cultural legacy and transmit it to future generations, and are, therefore, a prerequisite to prevent their extinction as a people. 16 The Human Rights Committee has recognized that ownership of and control over ancestral territories are essential to Indigenous Peoples’ survival as peoples, with the preservation of their distinct culture; and that any denial of the exercise of their territorial rights is detrimental to values that are very representative for members of Indigenous Peoples who are at risk of losing their cultural identity and the heritage to be passed on to future generations.17 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has held that the culture of the members of Indigenous Peoples “corresponds to a specific way of life, of being, seeing and acting in the world, constituted on the basis of their close relationship with their traditional lands and natural resources, not only because these are their main means of subsistence, but also because they are an integral element of their cosmology, their spirituality and, consequently, their cultural identity”.18 Cultural rights have an intergenerational aspect, which is fundamental to the cultural identity, survival and viability of Indigenous Peoples.19 14.4 The Committee recalls that land is closely linked with the right to self-determination, as enshrined in article 1 of the Covenant. 20 Indeed, it is in the light of the right to self-determination, as set out in the International Covenants on Human Rights, that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights interprets the rights of Indigenous Peoples to traditional property, understood as traditional territories, lands and resources. 21 The Committee observes that there is a “growing tendency to recognize more forcefully the right to self-determination as a key principle when it concerns the collective rights” of Indigenous Peoples.22 In particular, the three United Nations mechanisms for the rights of Indigenous Peoples have considered that the most important right for Indigenous Peoples is the right to self-determination, as, without the enjoyment of this right, they could not enjoy their other fundamental human rights. 23 Accordingly, the Committee reiterates that the realization of self-determination is an essential condition for the effective guarantee and observance of the 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 14 General comment No. 21 (2009), para. 36. Ågren et al. v. Sweden, para. 6.6, quoting the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua, Judgment, 31 August 2001, para. 149; and Saramaka People v. Suriname, Judgment, 28 November 2007, para. 121. Roy et al. v. Australia, para. 8.3, quoting the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, Judgment, 17 June 2005, para. 203; the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group (on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council) v. Kenya, No. 276/03, Decision, 2009, paras. 158 and 227; and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Republic of Kenya, Application No. 006/2012, Judgment, 26 May 2017, para. 109. Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, Judgment, 24 August 2010, para. 174. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/21, para. 20. General comment No. 26 (2022), para. 11. Saramaka People v. Suriname, Judgment, 28 November 2007, para. 93. Separate Opinion of Judge Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor Poisot, para. 69, in Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Maya Kaqchikel Indigenous Peoples of Sumpango et al. v. Guatemala, Judgment, 6 October 2021. E/C.19/2013/16, para. 19. See also United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, art. 3. GE.24-18518