A/HRC/10/8
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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Special Rapporteur stressed that the
prohibition of discrimination and freedom of religion or belief may be decisive in the evaluation
of whether a restriction on the liberty of movement is permissible.
54. The right of indigenous peoples to maintain, protect and have access in privacy to their
religious and cultural sites was affirmed in article 12 of the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These issues were also raised by the previous mandate-holder in
several country reports (E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.1; E/CN.4/1999/58/Add.1; E/CN.4/1998/6/Add.1).
He insisted that access to and preservation of holy sites were fundamental rights in the sphere of
religion or belief that must be guaranteed in accordance with the provisions of international
human rights law. He welcomed any effort to ensure that indigenous peoples cease to be an
excluded community and enjoy all their rights, especially economic, social and cultural rights.
Indigenous peoples who suffer from an accumulation of unfavourable conditions - economic,
social, cultural and religious - should benefit in practice from a policy of support to compensate
for these inequalities. Such an approach needs to be in line with the general requirements for
temporary special measures as reflected in several general comments issued by treaty bodies.14
IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
55. Sixty years ago, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, which stipulates, inter alia, that “the advent of a world in which human beings shall
enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed
as the highest aspiration of the common people”. It furthermore emphasized that everyone
is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of
any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status. Unfortunately, there remains a long way to go
in order to achieve the goals laid down in the Declaration. Indeed, discrimination based on
religion or belief preventing individuals from fully enjoying all their human rights still
occurs worldwide on a daily basis.
56. The issue of discrimination based on religion or belief has been at the heart of the
mandate since its inception in 1986, when the mandate was still entitled “Special
Rapporteur on religious intolerance”. Over the years, the Special Rapporteur has reported
on numerous cases of discrimination adversely affecting civil, cultural, economic, political
and social rights. By discussing the impact of discrimination based on religion or belief on
the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in the present report, the Special
Rapporteur has highlighted some of the problematic trends in this area. She hopes that this
preliminary analysis might lead to a deeper reflection on this important issue.
14
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights general comments Nos. 13 (1999),
16 (2005) and 17 (2005); Human Rights Committee general comments Nos. 17 (1989), 18
(1989) and 23 (1994); Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination general
recommendations Nos. XXVII (2000), XXIX (2002) and XXX (2005); Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women general comments Nos. 5 (1988), 18 (1991), 23
(1997) and 25 (2004); Committee on the Rights of the Child general comments Nos. 4 (2003)
and 5 (2003).