From the Global to the Local: The Development of Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights Internationally and in Southeast Asia

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek INMAN
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Legislative Reform ◽  
Implementation Gap ◽  
African Commission

Despite a noticeable shift in recent years, indigenous peoples in Asia continue to experience many forms of human rights violations, with the most serious perhaps being the loss of traditional lands and territories. The purpose of this paper is to examine indigenous peoples’ land rights and its application in Southeast Asia. To that end, the paper will provide an overview of the development of indigenous peoples’ land rights internationally; offer regional perspectives from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights; analyze the concept of indigenous peoples in Asia, juxtaposing it with concurrent difficulties being experienced on the African continent; examine three countries (Cambodia, the Philippines, and Malaysia) that recognize indigenous peoples’ land rights to some extent, whether through constitutional amendments, legislative reform, or domestic jurisprudence; and highlight the implementation gap between the rights of indigenous peoples in law and practice.

scholarly journals Evolving Legal Protections for Indigenous Peoples in Africa: Some Post-UNDRIP Reflections

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-365
Author(s):  
Derek Inman ◽  
Dorothée Cambou ◽  
Stefaan Smis
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
African Continent ◽  
African Context ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
The Right

Prior to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) many African states held a unified and seemingly hostile position towards the UNDRIP exemplified by the concerns outlined in the African Group's Draft Aide Memoire. In order to gain a better understanding of the protections offered to indigenous peoples on the African continent, it is necessary to examine the concerns raised in the aforementioned Draft Aide Memoire and highlight how these concerns have been addressed at the regional level, effectively changing how the human rights norms contained within the UNDRIP are seen, understood and interpreted in the African context. The purpose of this article is to do just that: to examine in particular how the issue of defining indigenous peoples has been tackled on the African continent, how the right to self-determination has unfolded for indigenous peoples in Africa and how indigenous peoples' right to free, prior and informed consent has been interpreted at the regional level.

Recent Books on Human Rights and Groups Review Essays International Law and the Evolution of Indigenous Rights

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-131
Author(s):  
Stephen Allen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Critical Stage ◽  
Conditions Of Possibility ◽  
Supranational Level

AbstractThe recent adoption of the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has reinvigorated the discourse on indigenous rights. This essay reviews three books – Xanthaki's Indigenous Rights and United Nations Standards: Self-Determination, Culture and Land; Gilbert's Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights Under International Law: From Victims to Actors; and Rodriguez-Pinero's Indigenous Peoples, Postcolonialism and International Law: The ILO Regime (1919–1989) – that illustrate the way in which indigenous rights have evolved at the supranational level. Moreover, in their different ways, these important books highlight the conditions of possibility for indigenous peoples at a critical stage in the development of indigenous rights in international law.

New Human Rights Concept for Old African Problems: An Analysis of the Challenges of Introducing and Implementing Indigenous Rights in Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-332
Author(s):  
Paul Tamuno
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Group Rights ◽  
International Understanding ◽  
Foreign Origin ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
African Commission

AbstractThe adoption by some peoples in Africa of the indigenous rights concept has brought about new challenges regarding the application of the concept to these peoples. The indigenous rights concept was shaped by the colonial experiences of indigenous peoples in the Americas and Australasia. The international understanding of the concept pre-supposes the existence of a set of group rights belonging to peoples who are descendants of the earlier inhabitants of the territory on which a state is located, in contrast to other citizens of that state who are considered colonial settlers. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has attempted to overcome this challenge by evolving a description of indigenousness for Africa. This article argues that, although the conceptual challenges that flow from the foreign origin of the concept have not been fully overcome, the African Commission's description has successfully located Africa within the global indigenous rights framework.

scholarly journals LITIGATING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS IN AFRICA: POTENTIALS, CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Legal Empowerment

AbstractAdopting a comparative analysis, this article examines some recent litigation which has focused on indigenous peoples’ rights across the African continent. The aim is to explore both the potential and the challenges and limitations of litigation as a tool for supporting the rights of indigenous peoples. The article explores the extent to which a specific African jurisprudence is emerging on issues that are essential to indigenous peoples such as non-discrimination, self-identification, land rights and development. It also focuses on the practical issues that arise when engaging with litigation in order to explore the extent to which litigation can contribute to the legal empowerment of some of the most marginalized indigenous communities in Africa.

Resistance and Reclamation

2019 ◽  
pp. 101-112
Author(s):  
Michael J. Kral
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Collective Agency ◽  
Land Claims ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Movement ◽  
Indigenous Social Movements

After many years, and for some peoples centuries, of colonial/imperial dispossession of their lives and cultures, indigenous peoples are increasingly gaining momentum in self-determination and collective agency. A spirit is moving, however slowly but strongly, through Indigenous country. It is called indigenism, the international human rights movement for indigenous peoples. This chapter examines how indigenous peoples and Inuit are reclaiming their lives after colonialism. Self-determination and human rights are discussed, as are indigenous social movements. These movements are seen in Canada, the United States, Ecuador, the Philippines, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and other countries. The chapter concludes with a focus on Inuit self-determination, including land claims and self-government.

III. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA: THE PRAGMATIC REVOLUTION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS

2011 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
African Charter ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
African Commission

The definition and scope of indigenous peoples' human rights are usually contentious in the context of Africa.2While in recent years indigenous peoples' human rights have expanded immensely internationally, in Africa indigenous peoples' rights are still perceived to be in their infancy.3At the United Nations, the group of African States delayed the process that finally led to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 (UNDRIP).4At a national level, most of the States in Africa are still reluctant to recognize the specific rights of indigenous peoples.5Until recently, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission), the leading human rights institution for the continent,6had kept a low profile on the issue and had ‘not always interpreted indigenous peoples’ rights favourably'.7From this perspective Commission regarding the communication submitted by the indigenous Endorois community against Kenya casts new light on the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa.8The decision, which has already been hailed as a ‘landmark,’9touches on several crucial issues regarding the development of indigenous peoples' human rights in Africa. This groundbreaking decision did not materialize unexpectedly but is part of a wider evolution of the Commission regarding indigenous peoples' human rights in Africa. It echoes the work of the Commission's own Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities (Working Group) which was established in 2001 with the mandate to focus specifically on the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa.10The mandate of the Working Group is to examine the concept of indigenous communities in Africa, as well as to analyse their rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter).11In 2003 the Commission adopted the report of the Working Group which proposes several avenues for the recognition and promotion of indigenous rights in Africa.12The adoption of an Advisory Opinion by the Commission to support the adoption of UNDRIP marked another step toward the affirmation of indigenous peoples' rights in Africa.13The Advisory Opinion not only participated in unlocking the reluctance of the group of African States to adopt the UNDRIP, but also reflected developments taking place at the international level on the rights of indigenous peoples as well as their connection to the continent. Remarkably, in recent years, the Commission has started to refer to indigenous peoples' rights in its examination of States' periodic reports.14All these factors and the recent decision of the Commission in the Endorois case indicate the emergence of a consistent jurisprudence on indigenous peoples' rights in Africa.

scholarly journals Introduction: States, Critical Citizens, and the Challenge of Democratization in Southeast Asia

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-142
Author(s):  
LILY ZUBAIDAH RAHIM ◽  
JULIET PIETSCH
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Political ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Critical Citizens ◽  
Freedom House

The political trajectories in Southeast Asia are much more complex than neat theoretical models would suggest. In particular, the diverse experience of post-authoritarian states are far from linear – often moving forward, backward, and forward again, or stalling for a number of years. Political trajectories can thus be uneven and erratic, as exemplified by Thailand's military coups, graduating from hegemonic to competitive electoral authoritarian rule in Singapore and Malaysia and lingering within the zone of low-quality democracy as characterized by Indonesia's poor governance and neo-patrimonial dynamics. Indeed, since 2014, Freedom House no longer classifies Indonesia as ‘Free’, following the passage of legislation restricting the activity of civil society and the human rights violations against religious minorities. Similarly, Thailand lost its ‘Free’ ranking in 2006 and the Philippines in 2007.

Participation and Decision-making in Non-dominant Communities. A Perspective from Civic Republicanism

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-327
Author(s):  
Hans Morten Haugen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Civic Republicanism ◽  
Power Asymmetries ◽  
The Many ◽  
African Commission

The article investigates the civic republicanism non-domination approach to freedom, which encompasses power asymmetries. This freedom approach differs from the neo-liberal freedom approach which is essentially about non-interference. Recent jurisprudence from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (iacthr) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights is analysed. It is found that the non-domination approach is a relevant approach in order to bridge the many gaps (participation/representation, accountability and protection) vulnerable communities depending upon harvesting of natural resources are struggling with. It is found that the free, prior and informed consent (fpic) requirement is not formally recognized in only one state’s legislation, the Philippines, specification of the less demanding free, prior and informed consultation is interpreted by the iacthr in a manner which is essentially corresponding to the fpic requirement.

Case of the Kaliña and Lokono Peoples v. Suriname

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-154
Author(s):  
Lucas Lixinski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
Collective Rights ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
Indigenous Land Rights ◽  
Judicial Protection ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Indigenous Land

On November 25, 2015, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Court) held that the state of Suriname had violated the rights of two indigenous groups by denying recognition of their juridical personality and their entitlement to collective property and judicial protection. In Kaliña and Lokono Peoples v. Suriname, the Court also considered the impact of nature reserves on indigenous land rights, as well as the legitimacy of private titling of property that encroaches on land for which collective title has not been attained. The decision pushes the Court's previous jurisprudence significantly—and somewhat controversially—by asserting that under the American Convention on Human Rights, indigenous peoples are entitled, as collective entities, to recognition of their legal personality. In so doing, the Court challenged ordinary assumptions about the individualized character of most adjudication regarding international human rights and made the possibility of enforcing collective rights more palpable.

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