HRC51: Oral statement during General Debate under Agenda Item 3

Item 3: General Debate

Organisation:Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker: Ellis Heasley

Thank you Mr President,

CSW welcomes the attention to freedom of religion or belief and indigenous rights in international instruments and declarations, however we believe that further analysis of the intersection between these rights remains essential.

For example, in Colombia, courts have ruled that the right to freedom of religion or belief does not extend to those living on indigenous lands where collective cultural rights take precedence.

As such, indigenous individuals who convert away from the majority traditional beliefs of their communities can face a host of violations on account of their religion or belief.

Violations include arbitrary detention, physical attack, forced displacement and even the exclusion from certain benefits such as the right to primary, secondary and higher education and employment.

We therefore call on Colombia to enact legislation that will protect freedom of religion or belief for all Colombians, including those living on indigenous lands.

Similar violations arise in certain states in Mexico, including notably Chiapas, Guerrero, Hidalgo and Oaxaca.

Despite Mexico’s strong legal protections for freedom of religion or belief, state and federal governments often fail to acknowledge and respond adequately to violations in these communities.

In addition, the Law of Uses and Customs guarantees local and regional autonomy to members of indigenous communities and delegates considerable power to local authorities, who are often the perpetrators of, complicit in or dismissive of these incidents.

In one case, despite several complaints, municipal, state and federal authorities have failed to provide any lasting solutions for six Protestant Christian families and a single man from El Encanto, Las Margaritas Municipality in the state of Chiapas, who have been living since July 2020 without electricity and since 2016 without water or sewerage services.

We call on Mexico to uphold legal guarantees for freedom of religion or belief for all; and to ensure that other laws such as the Law of Uses and Customs are practised in accordance with Mexico’s constitution and its international human rights obligations.

Thank you