Vatican diplomat calls for culturally sensitive healthcare for indigenous peoples

April 23, 2026

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CWN Editor's Note: Addressing a UN forum on the health of indigenous peoples, a Vatican diplomat called for “culturally sensitive healthcare.”

“The promotion of health is not merely a technical or material question; it is a profound moral imperative rooted in the inviolable dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God,” said Msgr. Robert Murphy, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to improved economic and social conditions, including health and sanitation.”

Msgr. Murphy added:

In situations of armed conflict, indigenous peoples are often among the most vulnerable and disproportionately affected. Regrettably, such violence can result in the destruction of health infrastructure, displaces families, exposes communities to trauma, infectious diseases, and malnutrition, and severs the vital link between people and the land that nourishes both body and spirit.

International humanitarian law must be strictly observed; deliberate attacks on civilian populations, including indigenous communities, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid are never justifiable.

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