E/CN.4/1998/6/Add.1 page 17 1. Religious matters 77. The land and sacred sites hold a fundamental significance for the Aboriginals, insofar as their beliefs are identified with the land. A basic question is therefore the recognition of an Aboriginal religion intrinsically related to the land within the framework of an Australian society essentially based on Judeo-Christian and western values. In the view of the Aboriginals, maintaining the integrity of the land takes on a religious dimension, which therefore has to be preserved. In more recent years, steps have been taken by the Federal and State Governments to recognize and protect the rights of Aboriginals to their lands and sacred sites, most importantly through the Mabo case and the Native Title Act 1993. (a) Native titles 78. In 1992, the High Court of Australia held in the Mabo (No. 2) case that the common law recognizes some form of native title in accordance with the laws and customs of the Aboriginals. They found that Aboriginal peoples may have maintained continued links with that land under traditional law. 79. In response to the Mabo decision, the the Native Title Act 1993. The Act defines group or individual rights and interests of Torres Strait Islanders in relation to land Commonwealth Government enacted native title as “the communal, the Aboriginal peoples or or water” where: “(a) The rights and interests are possessed under the traditional laws acknowledged, and the traditional customs observed, by the Aboriginal peoples or Torres Strait Islanders; (b) The Aboriginal peoples or Torres Strait Islanders, by those laws or customs, have a connection with the land or waters; and (c) The rights or interests are recognized by the common law of Australia.” 80. The main features of the Act are that it: “Recognizes and protects the existence of native title rights and interests in the common law of Australia; Validates past Commonwealth acts in relation to land which might otherwise have been invalid as a result of the High Court's decision; Provides processes for determining where native title still exists, for future dealings in native title land, and for compensation for extinguishment of native title; and Enables compatible State and Territory laws to be recognized.” 81. Native title is also protected by the Racial Discrimination Act (Cth). The Act requires that, to extinguish native title, the Government must follow the procedures for extinguishing other interests in land, as to extinguish native title alone would be racially discriminatory.