A/HRC/54/52 on Indigenous Peoples’ rights in terms of necessity or proportionality vis-à-vis the public need, interest or purpose.10 11. Article 46 (2) of the Declaration provides further guidance. Any limitations on the rights are to be non-discriminatory and strictly necessary solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for meeting the just and most compelling requirements of a democratic society.11 12. Even where a public interest is found, States must conduct effective consultations with Indigenous Peoples prior to the use of their lands or territories for military activities. Consent will be a requirement if the proposed military activities involve removal from their lands or territories (art. 10), loss of cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property (art. 11), occupation of, confiscation of or damage to lands, territories or resources (art. 28) or storage or disposal of hazardous materials (art. 29), as required in the Declaration. 13. Despite this framework of enhanced protection of Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories from military activities, Indigenous Peoples are exposed to dramatic challenges in the face of contemporary militarization phenomena, linked to extractive industries, conservation, internal security, and organized crime, among other factors. III. Indigenous Peoples, and types of militarization and their causes 14. In 2006, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations identified several types of militarization, including: the use of Indigenous lands for military bases and training camps, often by declaring them to be “public lands”; use of Indigenous lands by armed groups where Indigenous Peoples may suffer violence from both sides involved, without being a belligerent party themselves; use of military forces to control Indigenous Peoples’ land for geopolitical interest on the basis of counter-insurgency acts or national security acts; and the use of armed forces and private security companies for the protection of development projects and the exploitation of natural resources.12 Further types of militarization identified in the present study include militarization as justified by counter-terrorism, militarized force to protect conservation projects, and militarized violence as a result of investment agreements. 15. Globally, militarization inflicts environmental damage on Indigenous Peoples’ lands. Military bases and Distant Early Warning sites have been constructed without consultation and military accidents have occurred on Indigenous Peoples’ lands, often forcing their displacement. For example, the relocation of Inuit in Greenland in order for military bases to be constructed has had serious social and cultural effects. Once abandoned, these military sites leave a tragic remnant of contamination, filling these lands with hazardous and nuclear wastes affecting Indigenous Peoples for generations.13 16. Militarization in the context of wars and armed conflicts is also a major concern for Indigenous Peoples. It has been reported that militarization of the Black Sea region has negatively impacted the lives of Crimean Tatars. In many cases, Indigenous Peoples’ lands become battlefields for internal wars and conflicts, and Indigenous Peoples are targeted by non-State armed groups such as paramilitaries and/or threatened by military forces. It has been reported that the militarization in Indigenous territories in Nicaragua can be carried out by non-State armed groups or criminal gangs. The latter are linked to drug trafficking or natural resource extraction companies in Indigenous territories. 14 10 11 12 13 14 4 Oxfam, International Land Coalition and Rights and Resources Initiative, Common Ground: Securing Land Rights and Safeguarding the Earth (Oxford, 2016), p. 31. Also contained in A/HRC/24/41, para. 32. See E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2006/2. A/77/183, para. 6. Maria Luisa Acosta, coordinator of the Centro de Asistencia Legal a Pueblos Indígenas, presentation (in Spanish) at the Expert Seminar of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on “The impact of militarization on the rights of Indigenous Peoples”, Geneva, 5 and 6 December 2022. Presentations made during the seminar are available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/events/2022/impact-militarisation-rights-indigenous-peoples-study. GE.23-14759