UN expert hails Vatican rejection of 'Doctrine of Discovery'

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - A UN expert on Thursday welcomed the Vatican's rejection of the “Doctrine of Discovery,” a 500-year-old Catholic decree that was used to justify the seizure of Indigenous lands by colonial powers.

"The doctrine of discovery is still an open wound for many Indigenous Peoples around the world," said Jose Francisco Cali Tzay, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

"It must be addressed as part of a reconciliation process between Indigenous Peoples and colonial States," he said.

On March 30, the Vatican said that two of its associations, one dealing with culture and the other with Integral Human Development, formally repudiated "those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political 'doctrine of discovery.'"

The UN expert commended the Vatican's recognition of the harmful effects of colonization, including the pain suffered by Indigenous Peoples, and welcomed Pope Francis' call to abandon the colonizing mentality and promote mutual respect and dialogue.

"The Holy See has taken an important step towards reconciliation and healing with Indigenous Peoples by rejecting all concepts that fail to recognize their inherent human rights," Cali Tzay said.

"The doctrine was recognized as vesting a unilateral right of European colonial powers to claim superior sovereignty and rights over Indigenous Peoples' lands and resources based on their supposed lack of civilization and religion," he said.

He added that the doctrine was used to claim Indigenous territories in the Americas, Africa, and other parts of the world.

According to Cali Tzay, the doctrine continues to harm the full enjoyment of human rights by Indigenous peoples in some countries.

He said the Doctrine of Discovery provides a legal basis to unilaterally deprive Indigenous peoples of their rights to title and ownership of their traditional lands and territories by states.

Such states continue to use this legal theory as part of their national law, legislation, and jurisprudence, particularly concerning land disputes.

The UN expert said that this was one of the root causes of the “intergenerational trauma” suffered by Indigenous peoples.

Such traumas are currently manifested in high rates of suicide among Indigenous youth, over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system, disproportionate violence against Indigenous women and girls, and racial discrimination.

The special rapporteur urged all countries that still embrace and apply the Doctrine of Discovery to follow the lead of the Vatican in formally repudiating the decree and reviewing all jurisprudence and legislation that relies on it.