CRC/C/97/D/172/2022 Civil and Political Rights, read in the light of the right of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination, must be taken into account when applying article 30 of the Convention. 9.12 The Committee concurs with the State party that human rights treaties are living instruments. The Committee will therefore read the Convention in the light of the evolving interpretation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights,19 in particular in the light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as an authoritative framework for interpreting State party obligations under the Convention concerning Indigenous Peoples’ rights,20 keeping in mind that Indigenous children are also impacted by the challenges facing their families and communities.21 9.13 The Committee notes that, in its Views in Roy et al. v. Australia, the Human Rights Committee indicated that, in the case of Indigenous Peoples, the enjoyment of culture might relate to a way of life closely associated with their traditional lands, territories and resources and that, therefore, Indigenous Peoples’ cultural values and rights 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. The Human Rights Committee also indicated that ownership of and control over ancestral territories were 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 was detrimental to values that were very representative for members of Indigenous Peoples who were at risk of losing their cultural identity and the heritage to be passed on to future generations (para. 8.3). The Human Rights Committee further indicated that it was of vital importance that measures that compromised Indigenous Peoples’ culturally significant territories were taken after a process of effective participation and with the free, prior and informed consent of the community concerned, so as not to endanger the very survival of the community and its members (para. 8.5). 9.14 The Committee on the Rights of the Child also recalls that the integrity and durability of a culture depend on having, in times to come, the conditions for its own ways of life; that cultural rights have an intergenerational aspect that is fundamental to the cultural identity, survival and viability of Indigenous Peoples;22 that the right of Indigenous Peoples not to be subjected to the destruction of their culture is recognized in article 8 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; that, in its general recommendation No. 23 (1997), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called upon the States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to recognize and respect the distinct culture, history, language and way of life of Indigenous Peoples as an enrichment of the State’s cultural identity and to promote its preservation; and that, in its own general comment No. 11 (2009) on Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention, the Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that there existed a close link between article 30 of the Convention and article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and that Indigenous Peoples’ right to exercise cultural rights may be closely associated with the use of traditional territory and the use of its resources (para. 16). In particular, in the case of Indigenous children whose communities retain a traditional lifestyle, the use of traditional land is of significant importance to their development and enjoyment of culture (para. 35). 9.15 The Committee also recalls that language, which is the principal mode of transmission of traditional knowledge, is a foundational element of Indigenous cultures and identity. Indigenous children learning and using their languages are key to preserving Indigenous cultures, historical memory and worldview.23 19 20 21 22 23 Human Rights Committee, Roy et al. v. Australia (CCPR/C/137/D/3585/2019), para. 8.14; European Court of Human Rights, Tyrer v. the United Kingdom, Application No. 5856/72, Judgment, 25 April 1978, para. 31; and Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua, Judgment, 31 August 2001, para. 146. See also Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 39 (2022) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls, para. 13. A/HRC/48/74, para. 14. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/21, para. 20. A/HRC/48/74, para. 83. 13