The Philippine Constitution guarantees citizens’ freedom of expression, thought, and participation. These are also assured through the country’s acceptance of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which seeks to protect civil and political rights including freedom of expression and information.
We can express our ideas and opinions through speech, in writing, or by way of art, among others. However, we suppress this right when we fail to support the continued use and development of indigenous languages.
The United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples emphasized that: “To be able to communicate in one’s language is fundamental to human dignity and freedom of expression.”
Without the ability to express one’s self, or when the use of one’s own language becomes limited, the right to demand an individual’s most basic rights—such as food, water, shelter, healthy environment, education, employment—is also being subdued.
For our indigenous peoples, this becomes even more crucial as it also affects the other rights that they have been fighting for, such as freedom from discrimination, right to equal opportunity and treatment, right to self-determination, among others.
In relation to this, the UN General Assembly declared 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL). Its aim is to “leave no one behind and no one outside” and is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In presenting the Global Action Plan of the IDIL, the UNESCO underscored that, “The right of free unimpeded choice of language use, expression, and opinion as well as self-determination and active engagement in public life without fear of discrimination is a prerequisite for inclusiveness and equality as key conditions for the creation of open and participatory societies.”
The Global Action Plan seeks to enlarge the functional scope of indigenous languages usage across society. It suggests ten interlinked themes that can help preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages: (1) quality education and lifelong learning; (2) the use of indigenous language and knowledge to eradicate hunger; (3) establishing favorable conditions for digital empowerment and the right of expression; (4) appropriate indigenous language frameworks designed to offer better health provision; (5) access to justice and availability of public services; (6) sustaining indigenous languages as a vehicle of living heritage and culture; (7) biodiversity conservation; (8) economic growth through enhanced decent jobs; (9) gender equality and women empowerment; and, (10) long-term public-private partnerships for the preservation of indigenous languages.
The main idea is to integrate and mainstream indigenous languages across all socio-cultural, economic, environmental, legal and political domains and strategic agendas. By doing so, we support increased language fluency, vitality and growth of new language users.
Ultimately, we must strive to create safe environments where indigenous peoples can express themselves using the language of their choice, without fear of being judged, discriminated, or misunderstood. We must embrace indigenous languages as integral to the holistic and inclusive development of our societies.