131. The Commission, after carefully considering all the testimonies given during the hearings and the data it gathered, acknowledges that both the government and the support groups coming from civil society were motivated by concern for the plight of the Lumad. However, while they were forcefully arguing their positions on what was best for the Lumad, they may have forgotten that the Lumad – as a collective – could and would have spoken for themselves. 132. Verily, it was within the rights of the Lumad to do so, as actors and decisionmakers in the discourse, rather than as objects whose fate was left to others who assumed the role of their protectors. In the end, the Lumad were disempowered. 133. The Commission reminds all the outside parties in the Lumad issue to respect the prerogative of the Lumad to determine their fate. At the most, they are encouraged to provide all information and assistance necessary for the Lumad to arrive at a well-informed decision, unadulterated by any agenda of which the Lumad have no part or relation. 134. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) pronounced in its 1997 General Recommendation No. XXIII128 that to ensure non- discrimination in protecting IPs’ rights, including their rights to their ancestral land, no decisions that relate to their rights and interests should be made without their FPIC.129 135. The UNDRIP “(affirms) xxx that all doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic, or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable, and socially unjust.”130 It declares that “IPs and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights.131 They should be left alone to make free and informed decisions to leave or return to their ancestral land, or remain or depart from the UCCP Compound, insulated from manipulation by any sector. Article 18 of the UNDRIP pronounces that IPs “have the right to participate in decision-making on matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves, in 128 Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation No. 23: Rights of Indigenous Peoples, U.N. Doc. A/52/18, annex V at 122 (1997). 129 The General Recommendation provides in part: 4. The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to: (a) Recognize and respect indigenous distinct culture, history, language and way of life as an enrichment of the State’s cultural identity and to promote its preservation; (b) Ensure that members of IPs are free and equal in dignity and rights and free from any discrimination, in particular that based on indigenous origin or identity; (c) Provide IPs with conditions allowing for a sustainable economic and social development compatible with their cultural characteristics; (d) Ensure that members of IPs have equal rights in respect of effective participation in public life and that no decisions directly relating to their rights and interests are taken without their informed consent; 130 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Preamble. 131 Id., Article 2. 31