A/77/514 community, which depends on indigenous lands as a critical source of life and healing.163 Many justice systems are community-orientated, using rehabilitation and reintegration in "seek[ing] to heal the offender, victim, and community."164 And their socio-economic philosophies frequently emphasize "social responsibility and reciprocity," guiding production and distribution of goods, sustainable practices, and engagement in traditional occupations (e.g., hunting, fishing).165 62. By failing to develop culturally relevant, holistic solutions that consider indigenous peoples' rights and needs, several interlocutors submit that States' practices and policies are relatively ineffective—and may even be detrimental. Invoking neoliberal principles, some States have paternalistically sought to justify or legitimize rights violations as being in indigenous peoples' "best interests." Such claims include rationalizations that forced relocation facilitates indigenous peoples’ access to modern goods and services, despite profoundly rupturing community cohesion and identity. States often consider traditional livelihood activities as "irrelevant" and sometimes discourage them "even in the absence of viable alternatives."166 63. For interlocutors, the lack of culturally appropriate options and the State's failure to fulfil positive obligations in protecting their collective identity and their rights to exercise culture, language, and religion have compounded disadvantages.167 Many indigenous peoples globally have comparatively low educational achievement rates (low attendance and literacy and high dropout). Cited factors include lack of indigenous language options, culturally appropriate curricula, physically accessible schools, or institutional accommodation of traditional practices (e.g., hunting, nomadic lifestyle, and sacred ceremonies).168 G. Civic and political exclusion 64. When the rights of one community suffer, the whole of society suffers. Empowering indigenous peoples by respecting their rights to equal participation within political and public spheres is paramount for ensuring democracy, peace, and security, especially by empowering them to mitigate disadvantages and better advocate for rights, including freedom of religion or belief. However, many indigenous peoples regularly suffer exclusion from civic and political spaces because of their indigeneity and/or religion or belief identity. 65. Some States prohibit those not belonging to their official religion or belief system from holding public office, contrary to their right to non-discrimination.169 Other indigenous peoples are divested or denied citizenship, affecting their socio-economic participation. Myanmar's 1982 Citizenship Law reportedly fails to recognize the ethnoreligious Rohingya community as citizens, rendering them stateless and denying them myriad civil and political rights, including participation in elections.170 Sedentarization, forced dispossession and relocation, and denial of citizenship rights have significantly impaired the tribal traditions of the Bedouins and their relationship to the land in several Middle Eastern countries. 66. States have legitimate interests in upholding public safety and national security. Yet several States have allegedly instrumentalized their ‘security’ and counterterrorism frameworks –– contrary to a human-rights-based approach –– to discriminatorily impede or criminalize indigenous peoples' enjoyment of their rights, including their freedom of 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 18 https://winnunga.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Spirituality-Review-2009.pdf https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/on-lifeways-and-litigation-rethinking-nativeamerican-religious-freedom. Also A/HRC/42/37,(paras.24-25). A/HRC/36/53,(paras.3,24). https://www.un.org/en/ga/69/meetings/indigenous/pdf/IASG%20Thematic%20paper_% 20Employment%20and%20Social%20Protection%20-%20rev1.pdf,(p.3). CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.5,(para.6.2). https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--gender/documents/publication/wcms_792208.pdf,(p.49). A/HRC/37/49,(para.56); https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/22/in-30-countries-headsof-state-must-belong-to-a-certain-religion/ A/HRC/39/64,(para.30).