A/HRC/54/52 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 33/25, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples decided, at its fourteenth session, to prepare a report on the militarization of Indigenous lands, territories and resources. A call for contributions was opened in late 2021 and an expert seminar was held by the University of British Columbia in February 2022. A decision to postpone was made, and at its fifteenth session, the Expert Mechanism decided that its next annual study, pursuant to paragraph 2 (a) of Council resolution 33/25, would focus on the impact of militarization on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. To that end, the Expert Mechanism held an expert meeting in December 2022 to inform the study. The study has benefited from the presentations made at both seminars and from more than 120 submissions from States, Indigenous Peoples, national human rights institutions, academics and others.1 2. For the purposes of the present study, militarization should be understood as any type of military strategy or activity that impacts on the rights of Indigenous Peoples as articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This refers, for instance, to any strategy or activity of a military nature, including supply facilities, infrastructure, bases or any other actions necessary for the development of military strategies or activities with an aim to maintain control over Indigenous land and territories for national security reasons, for insurgency and counter-insurgency operations, for border control, for accessing natural resources, for conservation purposes, for development projects or for the protection of the interests of transnational corporations. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. 3. It is necessary to highlight the historical militarization of Indigenous territories and its linkages with colonization, and the long history of Indigenous struggles for demilitarization and decolonization. The Alta conference outcome document recommended that States cease current, and refrain from any further, militarization and initiate processes to demilitarize the lands, territories, waters and oceans of Indigenous Peoples, including through the repeal and/or discontinuance of “anti-terrorist”, national security, immigration, border control and other special laws, regulations, operations and executive orders that violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples.2 4. The militarization of Indigenous Peoples’ territories, lands and resources has been one of the major challenges to the realization of their rights. Harm associated with historical injustices continues today, and many of the contemporary challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples are rooted in this history.3 II. Legal framework 5. The purpose of demilitarization and the principle of restriction of military activities in Indigenous territories must be interpreted in conjunction with the first paragraph of the Preamble, which refers to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and its ideal of peace and the eradication of war. International humanitarian treaties have been ratified by every United Nations Member State; as such, the equal application of the rule of law and specifically the laws of war in the context of Indigenous Peoples must be recognized and respected. Moreover, this principle of Indigenous Peoples’ territories free from military activities connects with several rights enshrined in the Declaration, such as the right to security as distinct peoples (art. 7), the prohibition of acts of genocide and forcible transfer (arts. 7, 8 and 10), the right to maintain control over their lands, territories and 1 2 3 2 The presentations and the submissions are available from https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/sessions/2023/16th-session-expert-mechanism-rights-indigenouspeoples. Global Indigenous Preparatory Conference for the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly, held in Alta, Norway, from 10 to 12 June 2013, in preparation for the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. See A/67/994, para. 7. A/HRC/24/50 and A/HRC/24/50/Corr.1, para. 7. GE.23-14759