Statements on public issues

The Public Issues Committee proposes that the Central Committee adopt the following statement on Human Rights and Languages of Indigenous Peoples:

Statement on human rights and languages oh Indigenous peoples

The World Council of Churches has addressed the issue of the rights of Indigenous peoples since the 1980s. It has monitored and supported the work of the special working group on Indigenous peoples within the United Nations system including the drafting process of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The World Council of Churches remains committed to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples that represents the minimum standards for the survival of Indigenous Peoples with dignity. The WCC central committee statement in Geneva, July 1982, appealed to member churches, among others, to listen and learn from the Indigenous peoples in order to deepen Christian understanding of (and solidarity with) their legal rights, their political situations, their cultural achievements and aspirations and their spiritual convictions. It further called on the churches to become politically involved on the side of the Indigenous peoples and join the struggle against those powers and principalities which seek to deny the land rights and human rights of Indigenous peoples.

The seventh WCC assembly statement in Canberra, 1991, on Indigenous peoples and land rights called upon member churches to move beyond words to action specifically: to negotiate with Indigenous peoples to ascertain how lands taken unjustly by churches from them can be returned; to recognize, acknowledge and vigorously support the right of self-determination and sovereignty of the Indigenous peoples, and to use their influence with governments and international bodies to actively seek the goal of justice through sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous peoples.

While the Council, over the years, has addressed various aspects relating to the rights of the Indigenous peoples it has not spoken clearly on the issue of their languages.

The World Council of Churches is aware of its responsibility to care for human life and is concerned by the global phenomena of loss of the world's languages. According to the figures put out by UNESCO, on average one of the world's languages is lost every two weeks. It is estimated that up to 90 percent of the world's 6700 languages will become extinct by the end of the century. Indigenous languages carry critical knowledge about how to maintain bio-diversity in the given place of the community and thus can provide means to sustain life of the planet. Increasingly, scholars are recognizing the critical link between linguistic diversity and bio-diversity acknowledging an analogous relationship between the two.

The mission history of the churches has many ambiguities, one of which is in relation to Indigenous peoples' languages. In many instances Bible translation has helped to preserve and develop Indigenous language, while in others the policy of the use of colonial language has had an adverse impact.

There is a need to revitalize the world's Indigenous languages with respect to cultural, intellectual and spiritual diversity of humankind. These languages carry a storehouse of Indigenous knowledge, accrued and refined over millennia--knowledge essential for understanding local ecosystems, medicinal use of plants, specialized agronomies and careful adaptations to regional environments.

In view of the need to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples, particularly their languages, the WCC central committee, meeting in Genera, Switzerland, 15-22 February 2005, reiterates its support for the right of self-determination and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples as they are defined in church and society and calls upon member churches:

--to urge the establishment of a UN International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2006 of a subsequent year;

--to appeal to their governments to remove discriminatory laws against Indigenous languages, to work towards removing the layers of educational and social pressures arrayed against Indigenous languages, and to actively pursue compliance with international conventions and treaties that regard the use of the language of heritage as a basic human right;

--to challenge NGOs and foundations concerned with Indigenous issues to raise as the highest priority the need to protect the global linguistic diversity through offering funding and structural support as communities around the world seek to keep alive the heart of their ancient traditions through their Indigenous languages;

--to remind churches and the Christian community of the diversity of spoken languages as a sign of the presence of the fullness of the Spirit of God in Acts 2 and the full diversity of languages as an integral part of the vision of worship in the presence of God in Revelation 7:9;

--to continue to support language-based services and activities, especially scripture translation with member societies of the United Bible Society which is currently translating into 500 to 600 languages, providing an important catalyst for language stabilization and development;