A/HRC/52/38 remains in their possession through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned. Article 12 should be read in conjunction with article 5, regarding the right of Indigenous Peoples to maintain their institutions, namely, that Indigenous Peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State. This is reinforced by article 25, which sets out that Indigenous Peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard. Other articles of the Declaration address restitution regarding Indigenous religious and spiritual property (article 11 (2)), the spiritual development of Indigenous children (article 17 (2)), maintaining Indigenous institutional structures and distinctive customs, spirituality, traditions, procedures, practices and juridical systems, in accordance with international human rights standards (article 34). The affirmation in the preambular paragraph that all doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating the superiority of peoples and individuals on the basis of religious differences are morally condemnable is also worth noting. 30. Article 30 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights states that: (a) everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and no restrictions may be imposed on the exercise of such freedoms except as provided for by law; (b) the freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs or to perform religious observances, either alone or in community with others, is to be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a tolerant society that respects human rights and freedoms for the protection of public safety, public order, public health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; and (c) parents or guardians have the freedom to provide for the religious and moral education of their children. Article 25 of the Charter states that persons belonging to minorities are not to be denied the right to enjoy their own culture, to use their own language and to practise their own religion and that the exercise of those rights is to be governed by law. 31. Article 22 of the Human Rights Declaration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), adopted by 11 States, upholds that, every person has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and that all forms of intolerance, discrimination and incitement of hatred based on religion or beliefs is to be eliminated. Non-discrimination on the basis of religion and other status is upheld in article 2 of the Declaration. 32. Article 20 of the revised Cairo Declaration of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation states that: (a) everyone is to have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the rights and fundamental freedoms of others; (b) no one is to be subject to coercion, which would impair his or her freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his or her choice. 33. A study conducted by the Permanent Islamic Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2016 addresses the rights of minorities in Islam. 25 34. While the jurisprudence of the European Court on Human Rights on article 9 has yielded around 100 judgments,26 the rest of the regional systems and, separately, the United Nations treaty bodies, have limited jurisprudence on freedom of religion or belief. It has been argued that the essential parameters around freedom of religion or belief as a human right, and its role within human rights more generally, is largely agreed upon. 27 However, there is a wide scope for reflecting and realizing this in the other regional mechanisms, as they gain experience in developing, and contributing to, this jurisprudence in line with international obligations. The mandate holder stands ready to support any efforts in this regard. 25 26 27 GE.23-00741 See https://oic-iphrc.org/en/data/docs/studies/851193.pdf. By early 2023, after eliminating those not declared admissible or struck off. Heiner Bielefeldt and others, Freedom of Religion or Belief: An International Law Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2016). 7